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In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, host Traci Arieli is joined by Ashley Mollison from the Palliative Approaches to Care in Aging and Community Health Research Program at the Institute on Aging & Lifelong Health at the University of Victoria. Ashley is also a PhD candidate in the Social Dimensions of Health program at the University of Victoria, and her work centers on equity, exclusion, and structural vulnerability at the end of life.

Ashley has spent years walking alongside people who are dying without housing, without family, and often without a place to go. Together, Traci and Ashley discuss what it really means to die with dignity in systems that weren’t built to serve everyone.

Key takeaways include:

• Why “You can’t die here” is more than a logistical problem
• What happens when palliative care ignores people pushed to the margins
• How harm reduction and outreach workers become informal end-of-life caregivers
• The emotional toll and grief carried by peer support workers
• Why equitable care requires rethinking who caregiving is for and who provides it

This episode invites you to examine the hidden assumptions built into palliative care and offers a powerful reminder: dignity at the end of life is a reflection of how we show up for each other long before that moment comes.

Links/Resources

• Palliative Approaches: https://palliativeapproaches.uvic.ca
• Ashley Mollison’s Profile: https://www.uvic.ca/research/groups/palliative/our-team/uvic-team/profiles/mollison-ashley.php
• Institute on Aging & Lifelong Health: https://www.facebook.com/uvic.institute.on.aging
• Host Traci Arieli’s Website: https://www.comfortingclosure.com

If you’ve found this episode helpful, please like, share, and subscribe. Every action helps more people find and join these essential conversations about aging, dying, and care.

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In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, Traci Arieli speaks with Samantha Rose, New York Times Bestselling ghostwriter, writing coach, and author of the newly released and award-winning memoir Giving Up the Ghost. Together, they explore what it means to navigate grief after suicide while still finding a continued relationship with the one who died. They discuss the silence that often surrounds suicide, how writing became a path to healing, and the courage it takes to reclaim one’s voice after loss.

Samantha shares how her mother died by suicide just three weeks before the 2020 lockdown, how she and her sisters each grieved differently, and why transparency with her son became a necessary part of breaking generational silence. She also reflects on the moment she realized she could no longer remain “a ghost in her own life” and how claiming authorship of her own story became an act of visibility, truth-telling, and deep personal restoration.

This episode invites listeners to normalize open conversation around grief, writing, and emotional healing - whether you are a caregiver, grieving family member, or someone who is simply trying to understand what love looks like after loss.

Links/Resources
Guest Website (Yellow Sky Media):https://www.yellowskymedia.com
Guest Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samantharose_writer
Host Website: https://www.comfortingclosure.com

Book Mentioned
Giving Up the Ghost - Samantha Rose
https://www.yellowskymedia.com (book available through guest’s site)

If this conversation resonated with you, please like, share, comment, and subscribe to support more healing-centered dialogue around death, grief, and storytelling.

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In this episode of Comforting Closure - Conversations with a Death Doula, host Traci Arieli sits down with multidisciplinary artist and podcast creator Andee Kinzy to explore how fiction, humor, and storytelling can make end of life conversations feel more approachable.

Andee is the creator of the audio fiction series “Kicking the Bucket,” a thoughtful and often funny story about an aging couple facing terminal illness, autonomy, and the emotional realities of planning for the end of life. Through the characters of Dolores and Howard, Andee helps listeners reflect on real decisions families face every day and why talking about dying can ultimately help us live with more clarity and intention.

Together, Traci and Andee discuss medical aid in dying, dementia and cognition in decision-making, the role of humor in navigating heavy topics, intergenerational communication challenges, and how listening clubs are helping communities practice these conversations in a supportive way. Whether you are a caregiver, an adult child, a healthcare professional, or simply someone curious about death and dying, this episode encourages thoughtful dialogue, planning ahead, and embracing honest conversations while we still have the chance.

Links/Resources
Guest:
Kicking the Bucket website: https://improvedarts.org/kickingthebucketpodcast Use code: KTBPODCC for early access

Host:
Comforting Closure with Traci Arieli: https://www.comfortingclosure.com

Referenced Resources in Conversation:
The Conversation Project: https://theconversationproject.org
Information on Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD): https://compassionandchoices.org

Please like, share, and subscribe to support these conversations and help others find the show. Leave a comment and tell us what part of this episode resonated with you or how you plan to start conversations in your own life.