Author Archives: Jenna Brownson

Every autumn, in places where the leave change color, people go out into nature to experience the beauty of the season. Few would say that they had ever considered the changing of summer into fall as a death. The brilliant colors of red, orange, and yellow brighten the landscape even though imminent death is theContinue reading “Beauty in Death”

It is autumn in New England. While thousands flock to this place in the world to see the colors of the fall, foliage is merely a display of death. And I’m not sure that most regard it that way. The reds and oranges of maples, the yellows of elm and birch, even the tawny brownsContinue reading “Change of Seasons”

Have we considered what we want our lives to look like right up to our last breath? Do we know how our loved ones would respond to the same question? As an End-of-Life Doula, I am comfortable with death and dying, as I recognize that all of us will face this eventuality ourselves. In beingContinue reading “Considerations”

When looking at something as simple as a mushroom cap, it is easy to awestruck by the beauty contained in nature. The shades of purple and the white markings, which evoke the patterns on a beach-trapped sand dollar, remind us of the variations found in the natural world. Death comes in variations as well. WhenContinue reading “Circles of Existence”

I’ve always been fascinated by things that grow in places where it seems nothing can sustain life. This is especially so in the woods behind my house, where, in damp and shady places, plants and fungi make their appearances by sprouting up through the previous autumn’s rotting, fallen leaves. Ghost pipe fungi are one ofContinue reading “Ghost Pipe Evokes Death”

It is hard for many people to imagine their body as a living thing that will some day cease to live. From our earliest memories, most of us can recall the thrill of swinging a little too high, the dizziness from spinning in circles, the exhaustion of a foot race. We are, in so manyContinue reading “The Mortal Body”

So much of our lives are divided by time demarcations. The starts and stops of events and accomplishments are mile posts along the path we each take. Our epochs help us to comprehend our human lives and provide a temporal context in which we orgaize our stories about them. Think about the telling of yourContinue reading “Beginnings and Endings”

This morning, I participated in an online seminar concerning topics that End-of-Life Doulas may discuss with their clients, and “green burials” came up. With so many industries turning their focus to doing business without doing harm, primarily to the environment, it’s no surprise that “going green” upon death would find its way into conversations aboutContinue reading “Green Burials”

What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other? George Eliot This easing of the way, as I like to think about it, is just one of the roles that an End-of-Life Doula is honored to fill. One of the most profound and satisfying projects that myContinue reading “Easing the Way”

It is necessary to meditate early, and often, on the art of dying to succeed later in doing it properly just once. Umberto Eco Imagine spending dedicated time actually meditating–both early and often–on the act of dying? That notion, on its face, seems like an exercise in fear and pessimism. Why would anyone take momentsContinue reading ““It” is Hard to Think About, but . . .”