Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula

Traci Arieli
  • 4.9 (10)
  • Education
  • Daily

Join host Traci Arieli for "Comforting Closure," a podcast where the often silent topics of aging, death, and grieving are explored with compassion and clarity. Each episode features guests who share practical advice, emotional insights, and spiritual perspectives to illuminate these natural yet seldom discussed aspects of life. Dive into tender conversations designed to demystify and destigmatize these experiences, offering solace and understanding to those navigating life's final chapters. Grab a warm drink and find a moment of peace amidst profound transitions with "Comforting Closure."

  1. 3d ago

    Healing Childhood Grief: Finding Home After Loss

    I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. How does losing a parent in childhood shape the rest of your life? And is it ever possible to truly feel at home after profound loss?  In this episode of Comforting Closure: Conversations with a Death Doula, Traci Arieli sits down with author Jacque Gorelick to discuss her memoir, Map of a Heart. Together, they explore the lifelong impact of childhood grief, the search for belonging, and how early loss can influence our relationships, parenting, and sense of identity well into adulthood.  Jacque shares her deeply personal story of losing her mother as a child, navigating an unstable childhood, and later facing another life-changing crisis when her husband, Ed, suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. Their conversation offers an honest look at how grief evolves over time, the importance of chosen family, and what healing can look like when life doesn't unfold the way we expected.  Whether you've experienced childhood loss yourself, support someone who has, or simply want to better understand how grief shapes our lives, this conversation offers compassion, insight, and hope.  Key topics include:  The lifelong impact of childhood grief  How early loss influences relationships and identity  Finding belonging after trauma and family disruption  Chosen family, friendship, and the meaning of home  Parenting while carrying unresolved grief  Healing without forgetting the past  Living through a loved one's sudden cardiac arrest and recovery    Links/Resources  Jacque Gorelick - https://www.jacquegorelick.com  Traci Arieli, Comforting Closure - https://www.comfortingclosure.com  Map of a Heart - https://vineleavespress.myshopify.com/products/map-of-a-heart-by-jacque-gorelick Dr. Joanne Cacciatore: https://www.joannecacciatore.com    If this conversation resonates with you, please like, share, and subscribe to help normalize conversations about grief, caregiving, aging, and end-of-life. Your support helps these important discussions reach more people who may need them.

  2. Oct 22

    Dementia and Children: Helping Families Stay Connected

    I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. How do you explain dementia to a child? More importantly, how do you help them continue building a meaningful relationship with someone they love? In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, host Traci Arieli is joined by author and actor Evan Bass Zeisel to discuss his children's book, How to Play with a Grandma. Together, they explore practical ways families can help children stay connected with grandparents and other loved ones living with dementia. Drawing on his background in improv, interactive theater, and dementia care, Evan shares why he believes personality persists despite dementia, how small changes in communication can reduce fear and frustration, and why play, curiosity, and emotional connection are often more powerful than memory. Whether you're caring for a parent, supporting a grandparent, raising children, or working in healthcare, hospice, senior living, or dementia care, this conversation offers a hopeful perspective on maintaining relationships through every stage of dementia. In this episode, you'll learn: • How to talk with children about dementia in an honest, age-appropriate way • Why emotional connection often lasts longer than memory • Simple communication techniques that can improve interactions with someone living with dementia • How improv and interactive theater can help dementia care • Why meeting people where they are can transform relationships If you've ever wondered how to preserve connection after a dementia diagnosis, this conversation offers practical guidance, encouragement, and hope. Links/Resources Evan Bass Zeisel - https://www.evanbass.com Book: How to Play with a Grandma - https://www.howtoplaywithagrandma.com How You Are to Me, Dementia Communication Training - https://howyouaretome.com Host: Traci Arieli - https://www.comfortingclosure.com If you found this conversation helpful, please like, share, comment, and subscribe. Your support helps more families, caregivers, and professionals discover practical conversations about aging, dementia, grief, and end-of-life care.

  3. Oct 15

    Finding Yourself Again: Travel, Grief, and Life After Loss

    I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. Can travel help you heal after the loss of someone you love?  In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, host Traci Arieli is joined by Janice Waugh, founder of Solo Traveler, for a conversation about grief, healing, identity, and finding your way forward after loss.  After the death of her husband Ron, Janice found herself facing a question that many grieving people eventually ask: Who am I now? What followed was not just a physical journey, but a journey back to herself. Through solo travel, meaningful connections, and stepping outside of familiar routines, she discovered new confidence, purpose, and a renewed sense of identity.  Together, Traci and Janice discuss why healing doesn't always happen by standing still, how travel can become a powerful tool for processing grief, and why moving forward doesn't mean leaving your loved one behind. They also share practical advice for anyone considering traveling after a significant loss, including affordable travel ideas, staying safe while traveling alone, overcoming fear, and taking that first step.  Whether you're grieving the death of a spouse, navigating another significant life transition, supporting someone who is grieving, or simply looking for hope after loss, this conversation offers encouragement, practical guidance, and a reminder that healing can take many different forms.  Topics discussed include:  • Healing after the death of a spouse  • Solo travel after loss  • Rediscovering your identity through travel  • Loneliness versus solitude  • Finding purpose after loss  • Safe and affordable solo travel  • Building confidence one step at a time  If you've ever wondered what life can look like after profound loss, this conversation may help you see new possibilities.  Links/Resources  Janice Waugh from Solo Traveler - https://solotravelerworld.com Solo Travel Society (Facebook) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/SoloTravelSociety Traci Arieli from Comforting Closure - https://www.comfortingclosure.com Home Exchange - https://www.homeexchange.com International Greeters (Global Greeter Network) - https://internationalgreeter.org If this conversation encouraged you or someone you know, please like, share, comment, and subscribe. Your support helps us continue normalizing conversations about aging, serious illness, death, grief, and healing.

  4. Oct 8

    Community Deathcare: Why End-of-Life Care Belongs to All of Us

    I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. What if the most important part of end-of-life care isn't medical at all?  In this episode of Comforting Closure – Conversations with a Death Doula, host Traci Arieli sits down with Kari Sims Anthon, co-founder of the Peaceful Presence Project, to explore the growing movement of community deathcare.  Drawing from her personal experiences caring for both of her parents during their final months, Kari shares how those journeys inspired her to help build compassionate communities that better support people facing serious illness, caregiving, death, and grief.  Together, Traci and Kari discuss why families are often unprepared for the realities of hospice, what community deathcare really means, the "95/5 Rule" of end-of-life care, why community support matters, and practical ways friends, neighbors, and local organizations can help ease the burden of caregiving. They also explore why normalizing conversations about death can help us live more intentionally and build stronger, more connected communities.  Whether you're caring for a loved one, working in hospice or palliative care, serving as an end-of-life doula, or simply want to be better prepared for life's most difficult moments, this conversation offers practical insights, hope, and inspiration.  Links/Resources  Peaceful Presence Project: https://thepeacefulpresenceproject.org Compassionate Communities USA: https://compassionatecommunities.us Comforting Closure: https://www.comfortingclosure.com Public Health Palliative Care International: https://phpci.org If this conversation helped you think differently about caregiving, community, or end-of-life care, please like, share, and subscribe. Every conversation helps normalize discussions about aging, serious illness, death, and grief so that more people feel prepared and supported when these experiences become part of their lives.

  5. Oct 1

    Creativity, Grief, and Healing: Why Community Matters

    I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. What role does creativity play in healing? Can music, art, storytelling, and community help people navigate grief and loss?  In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, Traci Arieli sits down with Brad Wolfe, founder of Reimagine, for a conversation about grief, creativity, connection, and the ways people find meaning after loss.  Brad shares how music became a source of healing while supporting a close friend through cancer, how his family's Holocaust history shaped his understanding of grief, and how those experiences ultimately led him to create Reimagine. What begins as a conversation about music expands into a broader discussion about creativity, community, post-traumatic growth, and the importance of sharing our stories.  Traci and Brad discuss why creative expression can help people process difficult emotions, how community supports healing, and why some of life's hardest experiences can also lead to deeper connection and purpose.  Whether creativity shows up through music, art, knitting, writing, movement, or conversation, this episode offers an honest look at how people can move through grief while staying connected to themselves and others.   In this episode, they discuss:  • Creativity and grief  • Music as a healing practice  • Community and emotional connection  • Post-traumatic growth  • Transforming pain into purpose  • End-of-life conversations  • Storytelling and meaning-making  • Reimagining how we approach grief and loss    Links/Resources  Guest: Brad Wolfe - https://www.bradwolfe.com Reimagine - https://letsreimagine.org Host: Traci Arieli - https://www.comfortingclosure.com  What role has creativity or community played in your own healing journey? Share your thoughts in the comments below.   If you found this conversation meaningful, please like, share, comment, and subscribe. Your support helps continue important conversations about grief, aging, caregiving, death, and healing.

  6. Sep 24

    Death Doulas and Healthcare: Working Together for Better End-of-Life Care

    I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. What could end-of-life care look like if healthcare professionals and death doulas worked together?  In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, Traci Arieli talks with returning guest Kacie Gikonyo, RN, death doula, author, educator, and founder of Death Doula School, about the gaps that still exist between healthcare and death care.  Doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, hospice professionals, and death doulas all have important roles to play. But many healthcare professionals receive very little education about death, dying, and grief. At the same time, heavy caseloads, documentation requirements, and limited time can make it difficult to have the conversations patients and families need.  Traci and Kacie discuss what can happen when those conversations are delayed, including families feeling unprepared for death and patients undergoing treatments without fully considering how those choices may affect their quality of life.  They also talk about how death doulas can complement healthcare teams by providing additional time, education, emotional support, and presence for patients and families.  In this conversation:  • Why healthcare professionals need more education about death, dying, and grief  • Why quality of life needs to be part of medical decision-making  • What families may experience during the active dying process  • What Kacie means by “laboring out of life”  • How death doulas can work alongside hospice, social workers, chaplains, nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals  • Why death doulas should complement healthcare rather than replace existing professionals  • How better collaboration could create more human-centered end-of-life care  Kacie also shares the purpose behind the LaborOut Conference, an in-person gathering bringing death doulas, caregivers, healthcare professionals, educators, and other end-of-life professionals together to learn, connect, and strengthen end-of-life care.   Whether you work in healthcare or death care, are caring for someone you love, or simply want to better understand what happens at the end of life, this conversation offers a different way to think about how we care for people as they approach death.  Links/Resources  • Guest: Kacie Gikonyo, Death Doula Kacie - https://deathdoulakacie.com/  • LaborOut Conference - https://deathdoulakacie.com/laborout  • Laboring Out of Life by Kacie Gikonyo https://deathdoulakacie.com/  • Host: Traci Arieli, Comforting Closure - https://www.comfortingclosure.com  If this conversation helped you think differently about death, healthcare, or end-of-life care, please like, share, comment, and subscribe to Comforting Closure: Conversations with a Death Doula. Sharing these conversations helps make death, dying, and grief easier to talk about.  #DeathDoula #EndOfLifeDoula #EndOfLifeCare #DeathCare #DeathLiteracy #HospiceCare #PalliativeCare #Healthcare #GriefSupport #DeathAndDying

  7. Sep 17

    Dating in Widowhood: How to Know You're Ready

    I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. What does it really look like to date again after losing a spouse?  In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, Traci Arieli sits down with author and relationship coach Abel Keogh to talk about life, love, and moving forward after loss. After losing his first wife to suicide, Abel found himself facing questions many widows and widowers struggle with: When is the right time to date again? How do you handle feelings of guilt? What do you say to family members who don't understand? And how do you build a new relationship while still honoring the person you've lost?  Drawing from both personal experience and years of helping others navigate widowhood, Abel shares practical advice and reassurance for anyone wondering what comes next.  In this conversation, we discuss:  • How to tell if you're ready to start dating again  • Why guilt often shows up when moving forward after loss  • Common misconceptions about dating in widowhood  • Navigating conversations with children, family, and friends  • What it's like to date a widow or widower  • Setting healthy boundaries in new relationships  • Taking things slowly and finding your own path forward  Whether you're widowed yourself, in a relationship with someone who has lost a spouse, or supporting a loved one through grief, this episode offers thoughtful guidance and real-world perspective.  Links/Resources  Guest: Abel Keogh -  https://www.abelkeogh.com  Books by Abel Keogh - https://www.abelkeogh.com/books  Host: Traci Arieli - https://www.comfortingclosure.com    Have you dated after losing a spouse, or supported someone who has? We'd love to hear about your experience. Share your thoughts in the comments below.    If you enjoyed this conversation, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who may find it helpful.

  8. Sep 10

    What Grief Teaches Us About Bridging Divides

    I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. What if the skills we use to support someone through grief could also help us navigate conflict, disagreement, and division?  In this episode of Comforting Closure: Conversations with a Death Doula, host Traci Arieli sits down with Liz Vogel, Executive Director of New Pluralists, to discuss the connection between grief, empathy, identity, and human connection.  Drawing from her work in Pluralism and her training as an end-of-life doula, Liz shares how the practices of presence, curiosity, deep listening, and honoring another person's experience can help us build stronger relationships, even with people who see the world very differently than we do.  Together, Traci and Liz discuss why grief is one of the few universal human experiences, how unattended grief can turn into grievance, and what end-of-life care can teach us about connecting across differences while people are still alive.   In this conversation, you'll learn:   • What Pluralism is and why it matters today  • How grief can help us build empathy and understanding  • Why relationships matter more than politics, money, or status at the end of life  • Practical communication skills for navigating difficult conversations  • How curiosity can strengthen connection across differences  • The role grief plays in community, belonging, and social healing  • Why presence may be one of the most important skills we can practice   Whether you're a caregiver, healthcare professional, death doula, grief supporter, community leader, or simply someone trying to better understand the people around you, this conversation offers practical insights and hopeful perspectives for living and relating more intentionally.   Links/Resources  New Pluralists https://www.newpluralists.org Comforting Closure - https://www.comfortingclosure.com The Dinner Party - https://www.thedinnerparty.org People's Supper - https://www.wearetrustlabs.org/#resources Resetting the Table - https://www.resettingthetable.org INELDA (International End of Life Doula Association) - https://www.inelda.org Anderson Cooper's "All There Is" Podcast - https://www.cnn.com/audio/podcasts/all-there-is-with-anderson-cooper What stood out to you most from this conversation?  Share your thoughts in the comments below. If you found this episode helpful, please like, share, and subscribe. Your support helps normalize conversations around aging, death, grief, and the human experiences that connect us all.

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4.9
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

Join host Traci Arieli for "Comforting Closure," a podcast where the often silent topics of aging, death, and grieving are explored with compassion and clarity. Each episode features guests who share practical advice, emotional insights, and spiritual perspectives to illuminate these natural yet seldom discussed aspects of life. Dive into tender conversations designed to demystify and destigmatize these experiences, offering solace and understanding to those navigating life's final chapters. Grab a warm drink and find a moment of peace amidst profound transitions with "Comforting Closure."

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