My Story

When my dad died in 2023, I became the executor of his estate. He did quite a bit of planning and it was still one of the most heartbreaking, frustrating and challenging 18 months of my life. Repeatedly, I would think “I wish someone could hold my hand through this. I know am not the first person to ever navgiate this!”

Having been with my dad, my grandmother, my grandfather and my son when they died, I realized that I was a person who could be with dying. I was a person who was able to sit with suffering and grief, advocate and educate in the medical system, and help navigate the complicated paperwork trails of living and dying. So, I attended Going With A Grace, a school for Death Doulas, and became certified.

It was life changing, to say the least. The units that spoke to me the most were the planning, paperwork and closing up affairs. I decided that one way to serve people who are dying or grieving was to be the person who held their hand through the labyrinth of bureaucracy that surrounds end-of-life planning and executor duties. Through my own planning, my experience of grief and doula studies, I discovered creating a full plan has deeply impacted my experience of being alive. I feel more present and clear in my life, knowing far better the people, work, activities and experiences I want to have in my life before I die. Planning has become a great gift in my life and now, I want to share it!

I am also developing an end-of-life planning app that will make planning easier, more efficient and even a little fun! Since 2006, my day job is the other passion of my life: massage therapy. I am a writer, a paddle boarder and I love to cook. I live with my teen daughter and our cat Ziggy among the fir trees, majestic mountain views and good people of Portland, OR.