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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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I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, host Traci Arieli sits down with Crystal Flores, an end-of-life doula and owner of The Grateful Death® to discuss Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED) as a compassionate and empowering end-of-life option. Together, they discuss what VSED really looks like, from the moment a person chooses it, to the emotional and practical support that follows. Crystal ...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, Traci Arieli speaks with Bryan Rigg, founder of Axios Consulting, about what happens when Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) isn’t available where you live. After helping a close family member access MAiD through Dignitas in Switzerland, Bryan created a consulting practice that now supports others in navigating the emotional, legal, and logistical journey of seeking MAiD...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, host Traci Arieli speaks with estate planning attorney Jeannette Marsala about probate, why it is so common, and how families can best avoid it with thoughtful planning. Together, they discuss what probate is, how people often end up in court even when they believe they planned ahead, and why a will alone is often not enough. Jeannette explains how living trusts w...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, host Traci Arieli continues her conversation with returning guests Ashley Meyveci, Co-founder and President of Luke’s Purpose, and Danielle Cristofano-Schwartz, Founder of Love From Lydia. Together, they explore the long road of parenting after child loss: the complex emotions, evolving identities, and how grief shows up every day. Ashley shares how her daughter c...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, host Traci Arieli speaks with returning guests Ashley Meyveci, Co-founder and President of Luke’s Purpose, and Danielle Cristefano-Schwartz, Founder of Love From Lydia, about what it means to keep parenting after the unimaginable: the death of a child. Ashley shares how life shifted after the loss of her son Luke, and what it was like to continue raising his older...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, Traci Arieli sits down with Marica Hofer, President of A Better Exit, to talk about a devastating and often overlooked fact: many people with diseases like ALS and dementia are locked out of Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD). Together, they discuss what’s broken in the law, what it means for people who are suffering, and why the ability to plan your own death is a form ...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, Traci Arieli sits down with Gary Kisela, founder of Murial, to explore how storytelling, especially before death, can transform legacy, connection, and grief. Together, they discuss how Murial is helping families create collaborative, living legacies through stories, photos, and memories shared before a person passes. From life review to digital obituaries, this c...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, Traci Arieli speaks with archaeologist and museum lecturer Ellen Marie Næss from the Museum of the Viking Age in Oslo. Together, they discuss how Norse communities approached death, burial, grief, and legacy. From funeral rituals and fate-driven beliefs to the poetry of grief and the legacy of honor, this conversation reveals how the Norse faced death and what we ...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, Traci Arieli speaks with Ruby Cohen Love, founder of Cafe Mortel, about reimagining what a funeral can be. Ruby shares her journey from struggling with fear of death and bipolar disorder to creating deeply personal and artistic memorials that reflect the true essence of a life. Together, they explore how funerals and memorials can move beyond tradition, why planni...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, Traci Arieli explores pediatric palliative and hospice care with Shekinah Eliassen, CEO of George Mark Children’s House. They talk about what makes George Mark one of the few places in the country offering whole-person care for seriously ill children and their families at no cost. This episode covers: The difference between pediatric palliative care and hosp...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, host Traci Arieli sits down with music-thanatologist Catharine DeLong to talk about the powerful role of music at the end of life. With decades of experience bringing harp and voice to the bedside of those who are dying, Catharine offers a moving perspective on how music can provide comfort, connection, and peace during life’s final chapter. Together, they discuss...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, host Traci Arieli sits down with Dr. Chrissy Salley, pediatric psychologist and Director of Clinician Engagement and Outreach at Courageous Parents Network, and Blair Young, a Parent Champion with the organization and mother to Bubba, who died in 2024. Together, they discuss what it’s like to raise a child with complex medical needs, and to do so in a syste...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In Part 2 of this two-part conversation on Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, Traci Arieli continues her discussion with Vince Crisostomo, longtime HIV/AIDS activist and Director of Aging Services at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. During the episode, Traci and Vince talk about the grief of surviving, the essential role of chosen family, and the emotional labor of holding space for a generation that is aging, and ...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this first of a two-part episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, Traci Arieli speaks with longtime HIV/AIDS activist Vince Crisostomo about his decades-long journey living with HIV. Diagnosed in the 1980s, Vince shares what it was like to receive a death sentence and then outlive it. Together, they discuss the early years of the AIDS crisis, the trauma of surviving when so many didn’t, and what end-of-life c...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, Traci Arieli sits down with veteran death doula Sarah Hill to answer the questions people are often too afraid, or too unsure, to ask. Together, they discuss what death doulas do, how they complement hospice care, and the deeply personal ways they support individuals and families through dying, grief, and legacy work. Whether you're navigating end-of-life decision...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. What happens when you're a doctor and still, you can't fix what's happening to your own child? In this second part of our conversation, Dr. Tasha Faruqui shares what it’s like to live in the in-between. She and her husband, both physicians, did everything they could to find answers for their daughter. Every test. Every specialist. Even a policy change in Congress to access care. And still - no clear diagnosis. No fix. Together, we...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, host Traci Arieli speaks with Dr. Tasha Faruqui, a pediatrician and mother navigating the complex path of parenting a child in hospice care. Together, they discuss what it means to live with intention when time is uncertain. Tasha shares her family’s rare medical journey, the emotional landscape of anticipatory grief, and how hospice care at home became an act of ...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, Traci Arieli explores what happens after the unthinkable: the death of a child. Joined by Ashley Meyveci, founder of the nonprofit Luke’s Purpose, they discuss the emotional and financial shock grieving families face and the lack of systemic support in those first devastating days. Ashley shares the heartbreaking story of her son Luke, the unexpected medical compl...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, Traci Arieli sits down with grief counselor and former funeral director Joe Stinson to explore the deeply personal and complex nature of grieving as a family. With over 50 years of experience in deathcare, Joe shares his knowledge and personal journey following the loss of his grandchild, offering a rare perspective on anticipatory grief, complex family dynamics, and ho...
I'd love to hear from you! Send me a text message. In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, end-of-life doula Traci Arieli speaks with Tracey Scheffler, who cared for her mother through the final stages of dementia. Tracey shares her experience with honesty, vulnerability, and deep love. From emotional exhaustion to boundary-setting, from grief to unexpected moments of connection, her story will resonate with anyone who has ever cared for a loved one. To...
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