A few weeks ago I fell apart, in the middle of the night, because I don’t own a tape deck. That’s the whole thing. I wanted to listen to a cassette my mom made me when I was eight, songs and stories in her voice, and there is no machine in my house that will…
My very first death doula client came to me through a neighbor of mine. The neighbor thought this woman could use a death doula, and made the introduction. I’ll call her Sassypants here, the name I teasingly used for her, which tells you most of what you need to know about her. In our first…
The origin story of my work as a Taboo Doula begins, like most real stories, at a kitchen sink. I was doing Z’s dishes when she told me her only regret. She was in her 90s, living in a senior community. Her family had originally reached out to me, but she was the one who…
May is a tricky month for grief and me. My mom died in 2007. May was her birth month. It’s also Mother’s Day. And my maternal grandmother, Grandma Becky, died in May two years before my mom did. So every year, May arrives and it’s not just spring. It’s like a carnival funhouse, laughter around…
Here’s something you might need to hear today: love and rage can coexist.
You can show up with tenderness and still want to scream in your car afterward. You can be devoted and still feel trapped. You can be doing your best and still be angry that this is your life right now.
That doesn’t make you a bad caregiver. It makes you a caregiver who’s telling the truth.
This season, you are not failing the holidays because you can’t manufacture cheer on command. In this piece, we explore why grief can feel so sharp in November and December, how to set boundaries with people who “just want you to be happy,” and simple rituals and resources to help you build a holiday that honors your loss instead of erasing it.
By Erika Hall, Death DoulaA reflection on acceptance, presence, and the freedom to feel 🌙 Introduction We talk a lot about grief and dying—but we don’t always talk about the rules we silently place on them. There are expectations. Unspoken checklists. Timelines and tones that we believe should be followed. We measure whether someone is…
🌟 What do you hope they say about you when you’re gone? Not the grand speeches or the list of accomplishments.The real stuff.The way you made them feel. The lessons you left behind. The love that lingers. Most of us think of legacy as something distant—what happens after. But the truth is, we’re shaping it…
IntroductionMy name is Erika Hall, and I’m a Death Doula. I work with individuals and families during one of life’s most vulnerable and sacred times: the transition from life to death. My role is to hold space, offer comfort, and ensure that voices—especially the quiet ones—are heard. At Rosemary Raven Hearth, I support people not…