Death Doula : Tools & Techniques for End-of-Life Support

by Kelly Ruby Hanson

Help the dying and their loved ones by becoming a death doula.

Have you witnessed someone’s last days and felt completely inept at supporting them as they prepared for the inevitable? Would you like to help dying people, and their loved ones, deal with the numerous internal and external challenges surrounding death? Becoming a trained death doula allows you to provide hands-on support to someone who is dying.

Kelly Ruby Hanson relies on her experience as a death doula, life coach, and healthcare professional of twenty years to teach others what the dying process entails and how death doulas are an essential part of the dying person’s comfort and care team.

End of life is a complex time full of unknown experiences and feelings. In her book, Death Doula , Kelly simplifies the tools and techniques you’ll need to master to best serve people whose lives are ending.

By reading this book , you will learn





Buy this book today to develop your death doula skills and learn how to care for the dying effectively and lovingly.

Genres: Death

236 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 12, 2021

About the author

Kelly Ruby Hanson is a Mental Health Coach, Sacred Passage Death Doula, and Human Design Practitioner who helps people manage the complex emotions that arise during difficult experiences. After facing many deaths in her work as a surgical technologist at the hospital and then losing her mom, Kelly realized that she needed a different set of skills and tools to better support the losses she experienced. Kelly learned that to have a better dying experience, people needed more than the traditional medicine could offer.
Kelly became a Death Doula through The Conscious Dying Institute to deepen her work with clients. Now, Kelly combines medical knowledge, mental health practices, practical understanding of the dying process, and conversation skills to teach others how to be present when faced with difficult life and death situations. Her approach blends the language of medicine with holistic practices to develop strength in supporting
Kelly is a transplant to Colorado. She attended IUPUI where she studied psychology and trained as a surgical technologist at Indiana University Hospital, Methodist, and Riley Hospital. Kelly trained as a Human Design Practitioner with Robin Winn. She is a NARM informed professional who uses a somatic trauma informed approach with her clients to help regulate their nervous systems in order to heal.
Raised in a small farming community where the older generations of her family were close by, Kelly learned the healing power of community and its effects on daily living and dying. She witnessed what a good death looked like and became an advocate for conscious dying after losing multiple family members as a young adult.
She loves spending time outdoors, reading, and cooking. She looks back on each client she has supported with gratitude for what they taught her about living life fully and dying openly. She believes every person deserves to live and die in line with their values, supported by people who uphold their wishes.
Website:https://www.rubyhanson.com
Email: kelly@rubyhanson.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Yourlocaldea...

Reviews

[Chrissi G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I became a Death Doula in 2020 during all the down time when the pandemic started. I use what I've learned along the way to inform the work I do with a hospice agency. Originally I only borrowed this book (via Kindle Unlimited) but I ultimately bought it. It is full of nuggets and gems that I know I will be going back to again and again.

While becoming a Death Doula may not be for everyone, even caregivers may find some guidance and assistance in these pages.

Thank You, Kelly, for an honest, simple, and yet profound book about truly unique work.

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book. It offers detailed care for death doulas to enable the establishment of emotional boundaries. It also provides information about how to pack a death doula bag.

I am very impressed by the lack of spirituality or religion in this book. Instead, the attention is on the holding of a space - indeed the creation of a space - and actioning active listening

This is the best monograph I have read on death doulas. Outstanding.

[Michelle Jaggli Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hanson does a nice job of outlining what a death doula does, the value of the work, as well as offering her insights on death itself and its impact on the dying and their loved ones. She also offers practical tips and tools to employ in your practice as a doula and the value of self-care.

I already know that I want to be a death doula and am working toward it by working as a hospice volunteer and will be enrolling to get my certification soon. Even though I went into reading this book with an understanding of death, death doula work, and why it matters, my understanding has been enriched by reading this book.

It isn’t necessary to be working toward being a death doula to appreciate this book. It has excellent information and insights for carers, families, the dying, and just people, generally. We will all be confronted with death at some point. Having a healthy, informed perspective of it can transform the experience into something much less overwhelming. This book helps with that.

As I said, this book provided an overview of these things. It is by no means comprehensive. It’s only 220 pages. It isn’t meant to be comprehensive. It is exactly what it endeavors to be and it does it well.

I only gave it 4 stars because I rarely give anything 5 stars.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource for anyone dealing with the imminent death of someone they love, for anyone in the dying process themselves, and especially for people (like me) who are just beginning the process of becoming a Death Doula. While I was a bit frustrated by the number of typos, missing words, improper and grammar (all errors of lazy editing), this book is a keeper for me and those like me. I will use it as a reference going forward in the next phase of my life/career/volunteer work. At the very least, this book is helpful in learning how to plan for one's own ultimate journey.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a death doula, just a daughter-in-law trying to do the work

I'm glad I read this, one of several books I sought out on how to care for my mother-in-law while she's in hospice care with terminal cancer. There's so much to learn, and I learned a lot here.

[Carmen Watts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very glad I read it because it’s turned me off being a death doula.

[Danielle Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good read. I’m interested in becoming a death doula so this was very informative.

[Jeanette Laskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good information

I enjoyed this book. I have sat with my parents and my MIL as they died. Doing that taught me so much about dying and the importance of being open and honest about death. I don't want to be a paid Death Doula, but I want to be equipped to sit beside, give comfort, peace and talk openly and honestly as my loved ones go through their dying time.

[Rowan Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a helpful book with useful exercises and a wealth of advice. might actually get a physical copy too so I can fill it with sticky notes and underlining :)