When we take our very first breath, we have no idea what it means to be alive. We have no set plan, we are not burdened by judgment or...

When I was a little girl, I heard a motorcycle crash outside our house and ran out to see what had happened. A young man was lying on the ground, bleeding and unresponsive. Something inside me knew what to do, not medically, but compassionately. I held his head in my lap and let him know he was not alone. I had forgotten this moment entirely until years later, while writing my second book, “The Hospice Heart.” As I traced my life backward, I realized I had been practicing thi

Almost every single day I speak with someone who is either preparing to say goodbye, has just said goodbye, or is doing their best to...

When someone you love dies, your life changes in a million different ways. Everything you planned to do won’t happen, and the you that...

When I am at the bedside of someone who is nearing the end of their life, I find myself very drawn to knowing their story. I want to know...

You can’t fix my grief You can’t make it go away I understand you want to But for now, it is here to stay I appreciate your...

When that last breath is taken the air in the room leaves for just a moment leaving those in its presence holding their breath it is at...

As each day comes to an end, I ask myself three things: What did I do well? What can I do differently? What did I learn? I do this...

"Gabby, why do people stop checking in, after someone dies?" I have been asked this many times and I always try to find the right answer,...

When you are younger you have no idea Of the relevance of time What it means, or how much you have Wishing desperately that you could...

My dog Tucker was a long-haired dachshund who although a bit rough around the edges, and sometimes a biter, was my best buddy. As many...

I have witnessed so many last breaths that I cannot count them any more… and I have hugged twice as many as they started their grief...

I have witnessed over a thousand last breaths. I have prepared twice that many people to say goodbye to someone they love. Does this have...

I went to nursing school in my late forties because I felt called to hospice work. While caring for a dying friend, I felt a sense of peace at his bedside, as though I had finally found the place I was meant to be. This work is intimate, personal, powerful, and always new. No matter how many last breaths I witness, it always feels like the first. It is an honor to sit with someone who is dying and with those who love them. Each first hello and final goodbye reminds me how fra

I visited a patient once who had just become bedridden and had started sleeping in a hospital bed, which was in the living room. She was...

There are moments when I can cry out loud But most of the time I keep it in It’s easier this way, at least for me But tears have a way of...

I received a really good question: "Do hospice facilities you work with limit the number of visitors to a room? Just wondering. I didn’t...

I had a moment today Or should I say… another When I realized you were not here And you will be gone forever I never thought there would...

If I could hug your heart I’ll tell you what I’d do I would squeeze it just enough To take the pain from you I’d put it in a jar And...

A few weeks ago, a woman reached out to me from South Africa, asking if I could be her end-of-life doula. We spoke over ZOOM about thirty...