Ask a Death Doula

Suzanne B. O’Brien RN

Ask a Death Doula Podcast is a weekly show hosted by Hospice and Oncology nurse Suzanne B. O’Brien. Suzanne is the CEO and founder of International Doulagivers Institute. This is a vital platform for discussions and interviews that will bring back death into the natural fold of life. Ask a Death Doula will share vital education on how to care for those who are dying as well as sharing inspiring stories from working at the bedside with over 1000 dying people from all around the world. Please visit www.doulagivers.com to access our free education and resource center. About International Doulagivers Institute: The goal of Doulagivers Institute is simple and powerful - to provide affordable and accessible education and support to everyone in the world so that every person has the opportunity to die with comfort and dignity in their own home. Death is something that we all have in common no matter our race, religion, or socioeconomic status. We believe that this education to support people to have the most positive end of life experience is a human right, not a privilege.

  1. 6D AGO

    How Thinking About Death Makes You Happier

    What if the secret to a happier life isn’t positive thinking — but remembering that life is finite? After caring for more than 1,000 people at the end of life, Suzanne B. O’Brien, RN discovered a profound truth: awareness of death doesn’t create fear — it creates gratitude. Recently quoted by The New York Times on happiness, Suzanne shares how working with dying patients transformed her life. What once felt like obligation — “I have to” — became privilege — “I get to.” Even ordinary moments began to feel extraordinary. In this episode, she explores how consciously acknowledging mortality awakens presence, clarity, gratitude, and deeper life meaning. She also reflects on research highlighted by The Washington Post showing that healthy mortality awareness can actually increase happiness and life satisfaction. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: • Why death awareness increases gratitude instead of anxiety • The most common regret of the dying • How shifting from “have to” → “get to” changes everything • The science behind mortality awareness and meaning • A simple daily reframing practice to start today After sitting bedside with thousands in their final days, Suzanne noticed a powerful pattern: No one wished they had worked more or worried more. They wished they had lived more fully, loved more openly, and been more present. Death is not the enemy. It is the great teacher of how to live. Because when we understand death, we finally understand life.    Join the upcoming FREE Doulagivers Level 1 End of Life Doula and Family Caregiver Training Webinar here Join us at Life Café here  Register to join us for FREE: THE GOOD DEATH BOOK CLUB EXPERIENCE: 12 MONTH FREE DEATH AND DYING COURSE  Or visit our website here!  GET THE GOOD DEATH BOOK Here      Please Share!   Know someone who is a caregiver, healthcare worker, or spiritual seeker? Share this episode and invite them to join this sacred and supportive experience.    Listen & Subscribe: Available on Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • YouTube       JOIN MY FREE TRAINING AND MEMBERSHIP SITE   This is a community-supported group hosted by Suzanne B. O'Brien RN, founder of the International Doulagivers Institute for training those who want to be professional End of Life Doulas, Doulagiver Practitioners and for anyone wanting more EOL education Join Here: 4491664174178077   ⚑ SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL ⚑ If you want to do great things you need to have a great environment. Create the life you want by surrounding yourself with positivity and watching daily.  Click here to subscribe!   ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツ Leave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too: Instagram Facebook TikTok Website Podcast

    37 min

  2. FEB 24

    The One Question That Determines Your Good Death

    What if one question could change everything about how you die? In this powerful episode, Suzanne shares a pivotal moment from her early days as an oncology nurse that transformed her understanding of end-of-life care. At the heart of this story is the one question that becomes the foundation for all future medical decisions: What does quality of life mean to you — and when would you consider it no longer acceptable? Without this conversation, the system is designed to keep treating — even when it no longer aligns with what matters most.With it, care becomes aligned, peaceful, and intentional. You’ll learn why most end-of-life suffering comes from lack of planning, how fear drives crisis decisions, the difference between hope and false hope, and why defining your quality-of-life benchmark is one of the greatest gifts you can give your family. A good death doesn’t begin in the final days — it begins the moment you choose how you want to live.    Join the upcoming FREE Doulagivers Level 1 End of Life Doula and Family Caregiver Training Webinar here  Register to join us for FREE: THE GOOD DEATH BOOK CLUB EXPERIENCE: 12 MONTH FREE DEATH AND DYING COURSE  Or visit our website here!  GET THE GOOD DEATH BOOK Here      Please Share!   Know someone who is a caregiver, healthcare worker, or spiritual seeker? Share this episode and invite them to join this sacred and supportive experience.    Listen & Subscribe: Available on Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • YouTube       JOIN MY FREE TRAINING AND MEMBERSHIP SITE   This is a community-supported group hosted by Suzanne B. O'Brien RN, founder of the International Doulagivers Institute for training those who want to be professional End of Life Doulas, Doulagiver Practitioners and for anyone wanting more EOL education Join Here: 4491664174178077   ⚑ SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL ⚑ If you want to do great things you need to have a great environment. Create the life you want by surrounding yourself with positivity and watching daily.  Click here to subscribe!   ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツ Leave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too: Instagram Facebook TikTok Website Podcast

    27 min

  3. FEB 17

    Can Learning About Death Heal Grief?

    Can learning about death actually heal grief? In this deeply moving episode from The Good Death virtual book tour, Suzanne B. O’Brien, RN, sits down with award-winning filmmaker and death educator Johanna J. Lunn, co-founder of The When You Die Project. After experiencing multiple profound losses early in life, Johanna was unexpectedly guided toward a life devoted to exploring death, grief, and consciousness through film and community dialogue. What she discovered is transformative: education about death doesn’t increase fear — it dissolves it. Together, Suzanne and Johanna explore how understanding what truly happens at the end of life can soften grief, awaken spiritual insight, and reconnect us to the essence of who we are. In this episode, they discuss: • Why avoiding conversations about death amplifies suffering • How awareness brings peace instead of fear • Lessons from those at the end of life • The continuity of love and consciousness • Grief as a doorway to awakening This conversation is for anyone who is grieving, fears death, or feels there is something more to this human experience. Because when we understand death… we begin to truly understand life. Johanna J. Lunn is an award-winning filmmaker and co-founder of The When You Die Project, a Canadian initiative dedicated to fostering conversations and education about death and dying through film and community engagement. Through documentary storytelling and public dialogue, her work explores mortality, grief, meaning, and the profound spiritual dimensions of the human journey.  Website here: https://whenyoudie.org     Join the upcoming FREE Doulagivers Level 1 End of Life Doula and Family Caregiver Training Webinar here  Register to join us for FREE: THE GOOD DEATH BOOK CLUB EXPERIENCE: 12 MONTH FREE DEATH AND DYING COURSE  Or visit our website here!  GET THE GOOD DEATH BOOK Here      Please Share!   Know someone who is a caregiver, healthcare worker, or spiritual seeker? Share this episode and invite them to join this sacred and supportive experience.    Listen & Subscribe: Available on Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • YouTube       JOIN MY FREE TRAINING AND MEMBERSHIP SITE   This is a community-supported group hosted by Suzanne B. O'Brien RN, founder of the International Doulagivers Institute for training those who want to be professional End of Life Doulas, Doulagiver Practitioners and for anyone wanting more EOL education Join Here: 4491664174178077   ⚑ SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL ⚑ If you want to do great things you need to have a great environment. Create the life you want by surrounding yourself with positivity and watching daily.  Click here to subscribe!   ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツ Leave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too: Instagram Facebook TikTok Website Podcast

    36 min

  4. FEB 10

    What the Dying Teach Us About the True Meaning of Love

    This Valentine’s Day, we’re talking about love — not the romanticized version we’ve been sold, but the deeper truth revealed by those at the end of life. After sitting with over 1,000 people as they were dying, one message comes through again and again: love is the meaning of life. Not achievement. Not productivity. Not perfection. Love.   In this episode, Suzanne B. O’Brien RN shares what the dying teach us about: Why we’ve misunderstood love The Four Truths people realize at the end of life How coherence — heart-led living — changes everything Why the heart was always meant to lead, and the mind to support What true life mastery actually looks like How remembering who we truly are transforms our choices, relationships, and peace. This is an invitation to soften, to remember, and to return home to the truth of who you are: a spiritual being having a human experience, here to learn love.   💜In This Episode, You’ll Learn: Valentine’s Day reimagined through end-of-life wisdom The Four Truths revealed at the bedside Heart coherence vs. mind-led survival Love as alignment, not attachmentLetting go of judgment and fear Why love is not something we earn — it’s who we areReflection Questions: Where in your life has the mind been leading instead of the heart? What would change if love guided your choices?How might your life feel if you trusted your heart as truth?   🌟Resources Mentioned: Download the Universal Life Mastery Guide A gentle guide to remembering who you are, why you’re here, and how to live from coherence and love. https://doulagivers.com/ulm-guide/    Closing Thought: Love isn’t something we find. It’s something we remember.    Join the upcoming FREE Doulagivers Level 1 End of Life Doula and Family Caregiver Training Webinar here  Register to join us for FREE: THE GOOD DEATH BOOK CLUB EXPERIENCE: 12 MONTH FREE DEATH AND DYING COURSE  Or visit our website here!  GET THE GOOD DEATH BOOK Here      Please Share!   Know someone who is a caregiver, healthcare worker, or spiritual seeker? Share this episode and invite them to join this sacred and supportive experience.    Listen & Subscribe: Available on Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • YouTube       JOIN MY FREE TRAINING AND MEMBERSHIP SITE   This is a community-supported group hosted by Suzanne B. O'Brien RN, founder of the International Doulagivers Institute for training those who want to be professional End of Life Doulas, Doulagiver Practitioners and for anyone wanting more EOL education Join Here: 4491664174178077   ⚑ SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL ⚑ If you want to do great things you need to have a great environment. Create the life you want by surrounding yourself with positivity and watching daily.  Click here to subscribe!   ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツ Leave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too: Instagram Facebook TikTok Website Podcast

    29 min

  5. FEB 3

    One Year of The Good Death: The Stories You’ve Shared Changed Everything

    In this episode, Suzanne O’Brien reflects on the first anniversary of The Good Death and the simple intention behind the book: to soften fear, open conversations, and remind us that death can be sacred and peaceful when we plan ahead. After hearing from caregivers, nurses, doctors, and families whose lives were changed by the book, Suzanne invites listeners to leave a heartfelt review—because reviews are how this message reaches people before crisis, supports overwhelmed caregivers, and helps families discover another way to walk the end-of-life journey.    Join the upcoming FREE Doulagivers Level 1 End of Life Doula and Family Caregiver Training Webinar here  Register to join us for FREE: THE GOOD DEATH BOOK CLUB EXPERIENCE: 12 MONTH FREE DEATH AND DYING COURSE  Or visit our website here!  GET THE GOOD DEATH BOOK Here      Please Share!   Know someone who is a caregiver, healthcare worker, or spiritual seeker? Share this episode and invite them to join this sacred and supportive experience.    Listen & Subscribe: Available on Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • YouTube       JOIN MY FREE TRAINING AND MEMBERSHIP SITE   This is a community-supported group hosted by Suzanne B. O'Brien RN, founder of the International Doulagivers Institute for training those who want to be professional End of Life Doulas, Doulagiver Practitioners and for anyone wanting more EOL education Join Here: 4491664174178077   ⚑ SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL ⚑ If you want to do great things you need to have a great environment. Create the life you want by surrounding yourself with positivity and watching daily.  Click here to subscribe!   ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツ Leave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too: Instagram Facebook TikTok Website Podcast

    19 min

  6. JAN 27

    The One Thing to Do To Build a Thriving Death Doula Business

    In this episode, Suzanne shares her guiding model, Serve & Assist, and why it’s essential for heart-centered death doulas and caregivers today. Learn how serving your community first—through education and presence—creates trust, impact, and a sustainable practice without pressure or hustle. Suzanne explains why 80–90% of a positive end-of-life experience comes from planning ahead and how this work can bring both purpose and fulfillment. If you want to make a real difference while staying in integrity with your heart, this episode is for you.    Join the upcoming FREE Doulagivers Level 1 End of Life Doula and Family Caregiver Training Webinar here  Register to join us for FREE: THE GOOD DEATH BOOK CLUB EXPERIENCE: 12 MONTH FREE DEATH AND DYING COURSE  Or visit our website here!  GET THE GOOD DEATH BOOK Here      Please Share!   Know someone who is a caregiver, healthcare worker, or spiritual seeker? Share this episode and invite them to join this sacred and supportive experience.    Listen & Subscribe: Available on Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • YouTube       JOIN MY FREE TRAINING AND MEMBERSHIP SITE   This is a community-supported group hosted by Suzanne B. O'Brien RN, founder of the International Doulagivers Institute for training those who want to be professional End of Life Doulas, Doulagiver Practitioners and for anyone wanting more EOL education Join Here: 4491664174178077   ⚑ SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL ⚑ If you want to do great things you need to have a great environment. Create the life you want by surrounding yourself with positivity and watching daily.  Click here to subscribe!   ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツ Leave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too: Instagram Facebook TikTok Website Podcast

    42 min

  7. JAN 20

    Holding Space for Men and Veterans at the End of Life with Adam Daviau

    Are Men and Veterans Being Left Alone in Grief and at the End of Life? Or Are We Asking Them to Carry Their Pain in Silence? There is a quiet truth in end-of-life care that is rarely spoken about: many men—and especially veterans—carry grief, trauma, and emotional pain without support. In this episode of Ask a Death Doula, Suzanne O’Brien, RN—founder of Doulagivers Institute—is joined by end-of-life doula Adam Daviau for an honest, compassionate conversation about grief, presence, and dignity at the end of life.   🔗 Connect with Adam Daviau: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beautifulexistencedoulaservices Website: Here  Join the upcoming FREE Doulagivers Level 1 End of Life Doula and Family Caregiver Training Webinar here  Register to join us for FREE: THE GOOD DEATH BOOK CLUB EXPERIENCE: 12 MONTH FREE DEATH AND DYING COURSE  Or visit our website here!  GET THE GOOD DEATH BOOK Here      Please Share!   Know someone who is a caregiver, healthcare worker, or spiritual seeker? Share this episode and invite them to join this sacred and supportive experience.    Listen & Subscribe: Available on Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • YouTube       JOIN MY FREE TRAINING AND MEMBERSHIP SITE   This is a community-supported group hosted by Suzanne B. O'Brien RN, founder of the International Doulagivers Institute for training those who want to be professional End of Life Doulas, Doulagiver Practitioners and for anyone wanting more EOL education Join Here: 4491664174178077   ⚑ SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL ⚑ If you want to do great things you need to have a great environment. Create the life you want by surrounding yourself with positivity and watching daily.  Click here to subscribe!   ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツ Leave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too: Instagram Facebook TikTok Website Podcast

    31 min

  8. JAN 13

    The 3 Types of Pain at the End of Life (and How to Manage Them)

    Is End-of-Life Pain Really Being Managed? Or Are Families Being Asked to Do the Impossible Without Training? There is a quiet truth in end-of-life care that many families discover too late: pain is often misunderstood, mismanaged, or missed entirely. In this episode of Ask a Death Doula, Suzanne O’Brien, RN—founder of Doulagivers Institute—speaks with honesty, clarity, and deep compassion about pain management at the end of life and what family caregivers truly need to know. This is not about blame. It is about education, empowerment, and dignity.  Join the upcoming FREE Doulagivers Level 1 End of Life Doula and Family Caregiver Training Webinar here  Register to join us for FREE: THE GOOD DEATH BOOK CLUB EXPERIENCE: 12 MONTH FREE DEATH AND DYING COURSE  Or visit our website here!  GET THE GOOD DEATH BOOK Here      Please Share!   Know someone who is a caregiver, healthcare worker, or spiritual seeker? Share this episode and invite them to join this sacred and supportive experience.    Listen & Subscribe: Available on Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • YouTube       JOIN MY FREE TRAINING AND MEMBERSHIP SITE   This is a community-supported group hosted by Suzanne B. O'Brien RN, founder of the International Doulagivers Institute for training those who want to be professional End of Life Doulas, Doulagiver Practitioners and for anyone wanting more EOL education Join Here: 4491664174178077   ⚑ SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL ⚑ If you want to do great things you need to have a great environment. Create the life you want by surrounding yourself with positivity and watching daily.  Click here to subscribe!   ツ  CONNECT WITH ME  ツ Leave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too: Instagram Facebook TikTok Website Podcast

    33 min
See All (100)

4.6
out of 5
88 Ratings

About

Ask a Death Doula Podcast is a weekly show hosted by Hospice and Oncology nurse Suzanne B. O’Brien. Suzanne is the CEO and founder of International Doulagivers Institute. This is a vital platform for discussions and interviews that will bring back death into the natural fold of life. Ask a Death Doula will share vital education on how to care for those who are dying as well as sharing inspiring stories from working at the bedside with over 1000 dying people from all around the world. Please visit www.doulagivers.com to access our free education and resource center. About International Doulagivers Institute: The goal of Doulagivers Institute is simple and powerful - to provide affordable and accessible education and support to everyone in the world so that every person has the opportunity to die with comfort and dignity in their own home. Death is something that we all have in common no matter our race, religion, or socioeconomic status. We believe that this education to support people to have the most positive end of life experience is a human right, not a privilege.

Information

  • Creator
    Suzanne B. O’Brien RN
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2017 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Ask a Death Doula

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