Sacred Deathcare Articles

Keeping Someone’s Ashes in Your House

If you have someone’s ashes in your house, it’s probably for one of three reasons. First, you may be holding onto ashes because it’s the right thing for you to do.

My Teachers: Joanna Macy

Joanna’s embrace of deep time, in which past, present and future all exist together offers an important healing framework that reaches beyond the individualism and linear views of Western consciousness.

A Funeral Held 50 Years After the Death

When Annie was three, her mother and sister died together in childbirth. Fifty years later, the family system was still out of balance and Annie still struggled with her grief.

Honouring my Teachers: Ed Tick

Ed understands the power of ritual and the need for the whole community to come back into balance when there has been an injury to any of its members.

Saying Goodbye to a Dying Cat

Lisa and Marie are nine-year-old twins. Their mom, Molly, called me one day because Zoe, the family’s almost-20-year-old cat, was in her dying time and it was time to say goodbye.

Honouring my Teachers: Starhawk

Self-described witch, Starhawk has reclaimed and evolved the European pagan tradition using rituals, goddess teachings, and mythology.

A Community Support Circle

After his stroke, I held a series of rituals to help my Dad find peace with what had happened, and to bring the larger family and community system back into balance.

Nature-based Rituals for Living and Dying

In this early interview, when I was still calling myself a Death Midwife, I tell stories about clients I’ve worked with.

My Teachers: Michael Harner

Michael’s understanding of the role of sound and ritual to shift consciousness and connect with the healing powers of the cosmos shapes most of the work I do.

A Home Funeral for a Grandfather

We never left Richard that night. About two in the morning, we bathed and dressed his body. It was a beautiful, beautiful night. There was a chorus of frogs coming through the window, and moonlight.

A Euthanasia Ritual for a Beloved Dog

When King no longer responded to me, I knew I had to help him die with grace. “How do I do that?” I asked. Sarah knew and her compassion was as valuable as her knowledge.

A Good Death is a Ritual of Initiation

Here’s an audio recording of the paper for the 2017 Arts and Religion track of the American Academy of Religion conference. The topic was “A good death is a ritual of initiation for everyone involved.”

Loss of a Pet or Plant Friend

This episode is dedicated to Sarah’s deceased cat, Luna, and all those who are suffering grief over the death of a beloved animal, or tree friend, or natural landscape.

The Beauty of a Family Graveyard

All my mother’s ancestors are buried in the same small graveyard. There has been a steady trickle of family members join them around that tree over the last 80 years

Getting Unstuck, on CBC’s Tapestry

This interview, with me and my dad, explores his feelings about life and death from his new perspective, confined to a bed in a long-term care centre, after having had a major stroke.