End of Life Conversations: Normalizing Talk About Death, Dying, and Grief

What if we could normalize and destigmatize conversations about death and dying, grief, and the many types of loss in our lives?

In this podcast, we'll share people’s experiences with end-of-life. We have reached out to experts in the field, front-line workers, as well as friends, neighbors, and the community, to have conversations about their experiences with death, dying, grief, and loss.

Our goal is to provide you with information and resources that can help us all navigate and better understand this important subject.

Reverent Mother Annalouiza Armendariz and Reverend Wakil David Matthews have both worked for many years in hospice as chaplains and volunteers, and in funeral services and end-of-life planning and companionship. We offer classes on end-of-life planning, grief counseling, and interfaith (or no faith!) spiritual direction.

We would love to hear your feedback and stories. You can email us at endoflifeconvo@gmail.com.

Please subscribe to our Substack here: https://endoflifeconvos.substack.com

We want to thank Wakil and his wife's children for the wonderful song that begins our programs. And we want to thank our excellent editor, Sam Zemkee. We also acknowledge that we live and work on unceded indigenous peoples' lands. We thank them for their generations of stewardship, which continues to this day, and honor them by doing all we can to create a sustainable planet and support the flourishing of all life, both human and more-than-human.

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End of Life Conversations: Normalizing Talk About Death, Dying, and Grief

Grief is Grief, Loss of Pets, or Loss in a Small African Village - with Stephanie and Jeffrey

February 21, 2024 • Rev Annalouiza Armendariz & Rev Wakil David Matthews • Season 1 • Episode 10

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In this episode, we had the honor of sharing a conversation with Jeffrey and Stephanie, a married couple who live on an island near Seattle.

Jeffrey has his master's and a Ph.D. in agriculture and has been working in food security in Sub-Saharan Africa for over 20 years. He has found that our humanity comes before our agendas, that we must connect as people before we work together, and that laughter, tears, and sighs bring us together in times of joy and sorrow. He is currently the program coordinator for an agricultural development project at the World Food Program and works in Togo and Ethiopia and remotely from an island near Seattle.

Stephanie has her master's in animal science and her doctorate in veterinary medicine. She's been a veterinarian since 1993 and blends her technical skills with compassion and sensitivity to do what is best for animals and their owners. When not caring for animals, she volunteers at a local nonprofit that supports senior citizens and at a nonprofit called Reading with Rover that helps kids gain confidence in reading by bringing her dog Kip to libraries and classrooms so that kids feel relaxed. Stephanie and Jeffrey were co-directors of a health center in Ethiopia from 2002 to 2004 and started and continue to operate a nonprofit called the Ethiopian Education Fund that enables girls and boys in Ethiopia to complete their education.

The Ethiopian Education Fund - https://www.ethiopianeducationfund.org/

Veterinary housecall euthanasia support page

https://www.lapoflove.com/pet-loss-support-resources

Pet Owner: Pet Loss - Washington State Veterinary Medical Association

https://wsvma.site-ym.com/page/54

Book - Tear Soup: a recipe for healing after loss
https://griefwatch.com/collections/tear-soup

Book - How You Live is How You Die by Pema Chodron
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/61142207

Song - Smile in the Face of the Devil by Matt Maltese
https://open.spotify.com/track/0h6X7BCq7IYKHNoXln3LX3?autoplay=true

Support the show

You can find us on SubStack, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and BlueSky. You are also invited to subscribe to support us financially. Anyone who supports us at any level will have access to Premium content, special online meet-ups, and one on one time with Annalouiza or Wakil.

And we would love your feedback and want to hear your stories. You can email us at endoflifeconvo@gmail.com.