Death Doula & End-of-Life Guide
…
Funeral Facilitator & Public Speaking Coach
Death is inevitable.
Support your future-self and loved ones with intentional preparation and active care strategies.
If there’s one thing in life I feel called to do, it’s to hold a space for difficult but important conversation topics, like death.
We will not die from our discomfort from having these conversations. But we will struggle in our silence. So let’s talk about it.
When I was in high school, I was selected for a program that would teach strategies to help me help others navigate grief as a peer mentor.
Well, it turned out the program wasn’t exactly what it was billed to be. I was tricked into signing up for hospice volunteer training.
As far as pranks go, this one turned out better than I could have imagined. I became a hospice volunteer and it was a foundational moment in me finding a path towards the end-of-life work I’m so passionate about today.
What is a Death Doula?
Death Doulas provide non-medical support to individuals who are approaching the end of their life and their families and friends, depending on the kinds of agreed upon relationship or services they have entered into.
Sometimes this means the Death Doula visits with the person who is dying and holds whatever kind of non-judgemental space they need in that moment: to cry, to be angry, to express their peace, to socialize and enjoy being in company, to process the complex emotions and challenges of nearing-death.
Sometimes, the End-of-Life Doula may support the person or loved ones with the creation of a memory-keeping item, such as a voice recording, a scrapbook, or other keepsake. Death Doulas have a range of supports they can offer, though the terms may very by Death Doula.
What is an End-of-Life Coach?
End-of-Life Coaches tend to be guides for individuals or families who are preparing for the death of themselves or a loved one. Though most commonly, Death Coaches are known to work with people who have a terminal diagnosis and want support in figuring out how to get their affairs in order, that’s not the only way Death Coaches can engage in support work.
End-of-Life Coaches also help healthy individuals prioritize and figure out their affairs so that, should they unexpectedly pass, some of their affairs are already in order, according to their wishes.
Arranging one’s personal business ahead of their own death is often a gift to their loved ones. The individual has made time to clearly consider and communicate their wishes and, depending on the level of pre-planning, may reduce the logistical burden on their loved ones during their time of grief.
Death Doulas and End of Life Coaches can overlap, like a venn diagram, depending on the agreed upon supports and goals.
How We Can Work Together
I offer a range of services related to End-of-Life Coaching to Eulogy Writing to “Funeral Referee-ing.”
Get in touch to collaborate.
Workshops
End-of-Life Logistical Planning - For You and Your Loved Ones
Death Doula Services - Supporting the dying person through life’s final process
End-of-Life Coaching - Planning for the eventuality (perfect for anyone, at any stage of life, who needs support putting their affairs in order as an act of care for themselves and their loved ones who will remain after.)
Funeral Officiant & Facilitator
(Aka Funeral Referee Services)
I am deeply passionate about helping families and communities honor loved ones who have passed on.
My services offer a focus on creating, and sometimes enforcing, community guidelines for how we remember the deceased, particularly for trans, non-binary, and individuals whose genders do not match what was assigned at birth.
Let me help take the burden off of those directly affected by facilitating the in-person space and ensuring the community does its best, in its grief, to honor the dead.
Non-denominational funeral or memorial officiant
Funeral or memorial facilitator
“Funeral Refereeing” and community guideline-manager for in person or digital spaces
Event Strategist
Empowering loved ones with the tools and support to serve as the event facilitators themselves and guide them through the event-planning process
Writing & Public Speaking
Funeral eulogies and memorial speeches
Writing and public speaking preparation
Obituary writing and editing
© 2025 Alyssa Truszkowski - Contact