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...

When I walked into his room, I knew this was going to be the day that he would let go. I took his hand, like I had every day for the past...

I recently watched the Netflix series “From Scratch,” which is based on the book by Tembi Locke. As you move through your life after a...

My memory, and my heart, is where you are stored I don’t think I could handle it if I couldn’t go there any more I am not sure what I...

When I returned to work after my brother died, I went to see my first patient. I walked into the room of a young man who was dying, and...