The Death Doula's Guide to Living Fully and Dying Prepared

by Francesca Lynn Arnoldy

Find practical and emotional support for your journey with this immersive workbook.

If you are preparing for the end of life--or simply looking to bring more meaning to the here and now-- The Death Doula's Guide to Living Fully and Dying Prepared imparts valuable insight to nurture clarity and your internal strength on your journey.

Infused with essential doula approaches, this workbook is a first-of-its-kind publication that invites you to process your life and legacy, create remembrance projects, build connections to vital supports, and draft informative wishes and plans for your last chapter. Replete with centering techniques and thought-provoking prompts, this comprehensive workbook is a welcome invitation for anyone seeking a more intentional approach to living and dying. It provides a practical template for end-of-life planning focused on designing comforting experiences that feel personally affirming--with sensitivity to all belief systems, cultures, identities, and histories of lived experience.

The practices within chapters promote death literacy, and present steps to create your custom death journal. Completing this workbook is a brave act of healthy preparedness, as it breaks down a complex and often overwhelming topic into manageable tasks. You will tap into deep truths and poignant memories as you work through the exercises, often feeling lighter and less burdened upon their completion. Most importantly, you'll find your best way to live fully and die prepared, by clarifying the fundamental ideals, priorities, and requests you want honored.

Genres: Nonfiction, Death, Health, Spirituality

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2023

About the author

Francesca Lynn Arnoldy, Community Doula and Death Literacy Advocate, is a researcher with the Vermont Conversation Lab and a hospice volunteer. She is the author of CULTIVATING THE DOULA HEART (a guidebook), MAP OF MEMORY LANE (a picture book), and THE DEATH DOULA'S GUIDE TO LIVING FULLY AND DYING PREPARED (a workbook). Francesca was the original developer of the doula training programs at UVM and she regularly leads events about providing emotional support. Her goal is to encourage people to hold one another's hands through life's intensities and rites of passage. Francesca lives in rural Vermont in a most beloved village.

Francesca can be found contemplating birth, death, and life with the doula heart on her website contemplativedoula.com.

Reviews

[Dr Bobo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before meeting the author in a workshop, I didn't know what a 'death doula' was and I could not wait until her book was finally released. And I was not disappointed as I have devoured this amazing book which clearly and sensitively develops an insightful, caring and loving approach to a healthy life and a prepared death. I'm a son, a husband and a neurologist who has dealt with death of my father, my wife and some of my patients and this book opens ones mind to such a deeper, compassionate understanding of something none of us can escape. Using the exercises in this workbook will undoubtedly help you in your journey and is highly recommended.

[Celia Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brings life to the topic of death in a meaningful, practical and yes, beautiful way. By sharing her experience and wisdom, Francesca Arnoldy offers us the chance to learn about living fully until we die. With her warm, gentle nature and open heart, Ms Arnoldy shows us that when we are okay with ourselves today, we are better able to face tomorrow, aging and death.
It was my pleasure and privilege to learn from Ms Arnoldy when I was a student in the University of Vermont's death doula program. This book brings the tools I learned there to our fingertips. I will continue to use them as a way to grow and learn and will no doubt recommend this book to my friends, family and patients.

[Dgordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a person who's been interested, intrigued and scared about death and dying, I found this book during my training as a death doula. I use this book all the time to help me organize my own thoughts and feelings about my own eventual end of life, as well as in the work I do with others. It is an overwhelming topic but the author does a great job of organizing the content and guiding the reader gently in all matters of life and death. This is a must have on the shelf for all death doulas, caregivers, and just everyday human, since after all, death is our birthright.

[Craig Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m an end of life doula and death and dying educator, and wish I could tell the world how vitally important it is to plan for the inevitable. Yet so few of us do, because 1, we don’t want to face it, and 2, we don’t know where to begin. Francesca’s workbook eases you into the process in a gentle, compassionate, step-by-step way. Reading/Discussing/Completing it will leave you in a better place, in many ways. One of which is peace of mind.

[Maryanne O'Hara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of this lovely workbook says it all: this book is a guide to living well and dying a good death. It engaged me on so many levels -- deftly balancing introspective exercises that encourage deep self-reflection with practical guidance that demystifies the process of preparing for one's passing. The author’s compassionate tone permeates every page, fostering an atmosphere of safety and understanding. Highly recommend.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars for me, others might find it to be a 5. I think this would be a good book for anyone who hasn’t pondered death, sat with people in their dying processes, lived through estate settlements, given eulogies, or completed advanced directives and other end of life documents. For me, I liked 20% and could disregard 80%.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much needed.

[Judy Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This well-written and well-researched book will open your heart in so many ways. Francesca shares her insights, personal experiences, and deep understanding of "living fully and dying prepared." She artfully crafted this book to guide us on a journey of self-awareness as well as how to practice compassion for others. I had the privilege of being mentored by Francesca as an instructor for the University of Vermont End-of-Life Doula course she created and developed. That experience changed my life and I know that it personally changed the life of hundreds of others. This book is a guide and a tool filled with activities and inspiration that will enrich your life.