I was going through a few boxes of old photos that also included cards and notes I felt compelled to save for thirty-plus years, and came...

Forgive me for the rant you are about to receive but I find myself continuously frustrated when I see that people are not being cared for...

I am often asked whether I experience my own grief while watching others anticipate and go through theirs. The answer is yes. Anyone who witnesses someone navigating the reality of losing a loved one feels something. For me, it often awakens memories of my own losses. Whenever I am at the bedside of someone with a dying parent, I ache a little inside. I am envious of their relationship because I didn’t have that. When both of my parents died, I was across the room from them,

When someone is given a terminal diagnosis, they are suddenly faced with questions no one knows how to answer. Why me? Why now? Why can’t I have more time? Why is this happening? I have been asked those questions more times than I can count. And I never have the answer. I was once at the bedside of a man who hadn’t yet turned 50. He had a daughter, but they had been estranged for most of her life. They had only just reconnected… because he was sick. She looked at me with quar

I had a conversation with a friend, also a hospice nurse, who just came back to work after taking the last few months off to care for her...

I do not have a lot of memories of my childhood, but there are certain things that have stayed with me my whole life. When I was very...

I received a message this morning from a woman who said goodbye to her mom in the middle of the night. I was with her yesterday, and one...

We all wish for a “beautiful” death, for ourselves and for the people we love. And thankfully, many times, it happens, or at least it comes close. I feel fortunate to have witnessed countless deaths that were peaceful, quiet, and even beautiful. But I have also been present for the ones that weren’t, the ones filled with struggle, distress, and sounds that echo in your mind long after the room has fallen silent. Death and the dying process are as individual as fingerprints. N

There is absolutely no rhyme or reason why one person goes quickly in their sleep, while another holds on for days, and days, and days. I...

I was with a gentleman recently who was far too young to die... and his greatest ache was saying goodbye to his daughter, who hadn't hit...

With every patient or family member I have the honor to sit with as a life is about to end, I learn and I grow. There is always a...

"If you reflect on your past experiences, you look at them once again thoughtfully." One thing I am absolutely certain of is that we...

People often ask me what they can say to someone who is grieving, but also to someone who is dying. There is always going to be some...

I cared for a woman who was in her nineties, she lived a good life, and she was loved by many. When her last breath was taken, there...

I have a patient who died a few days ago. During the weeks, days, and moments prior to his death, his entire team of caregivers,...

I had a tough day yesterday... I responded to a call that a patient had died, a homeless man, living alone in a shelter. I won't share...

I had dinner with a woman I only knew for a few weeks while I was her mom’s hospice nurse. She is lovely, her heart is big and it is...

Every morning I pull a different card from one of my many random boxes of Goddess, Fairy, Shaman, Healer, Angel, or Star Child cards. I...

I recently went to a memorial service for a patient I didn't meet until after he became non responsive. I didn't know anything about him....

Almost every single one of us carries something with us from our past, something heavy that in many ways holds us down or back from...