Alua Arthur helps people plan for death. A big part of her work is helping them reconcile the lives they lived with the lives they might have wanted. Her memoir is called Briefly Perfectly Human.
Alua Arthur helps people plan for death. A big part of her work is helping them reconcile the lives they lived with the lives they might have wanted. Her memoir is calledAs a death doula, Alua Arthur helps people to plan for the end of life and, when the time comes, to let go. She says that while we're conditioned to fear death, thinking and talking about it is instrumental to creating meaningful lives.
"When I'm thinking about my death, I'm thinking about my life very clearly: ... What I value, who I care about, how I'm spending my time," Arthur says."And all these things allow us to reach the end of our lives gracefully, so that we can die without the fear and the concerns and the worries that many people carry."
Before becoming a death doula, Arthur worked as attorney — a job she hated. Unhappy and depressed, she took a trip to Cuba where she met a fellow traveler who had terminal uterine cancer. Talking to the woman about death, Arthur realized she needed to make a change."Up until then, I was just kind of waiting for my life to write itself without taking any action to make it so," she says."Thinking about my mortality, about my death, really created action.
Many people have already served as death doulas for somebody in their family, and most of us will at some point. Which is why I think it's so important that we all have a functional death literacy, because we live in community. We die in community. At some point, a member of that community is going to need the support. So many of us are going to do it and already have. That's how I learned how to do it is through Peter.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Death Cafes Allow People To Confront Death With OthersAt a death cafe at Mount Auburn Cemetery, people gather to enjoy cake and tea while discussing death and mortality in a safe space.
Read more »
Dearborn Mayor Faces Backlash Over Residents' Chants of 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel'Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud is being criticized for his response to residents chanting anti-American and anti-Israel slogans at a rally. A video of the protest went viral on social media, sparking outrage.
Read more »
Compton man mauled to death by pit bulls cause of death revealed35-year-old Dominic Cooper was attacked and killed by his pit bulls as he went to feed them in the backyard of his Compton home in February.
Read more »
Anti-Israel Protesters in Michigan Chant 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel'Protesters in Dearborn, Michigan, marked the end of Ramadan by chanting anti-American and anti-Israel slogans during an International Al-Quds Day rally. The video of the protest went viral on social media, showing activists condemning both countries in the strongest terms.
Read more »
Protesters in Michigan Shout 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel'During an International Al-Quds Day rally in Dearborn, Michigan, protesters chanted 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel'. The rally was organized to condemn the United States government's support for Israel and its actions in Gaza.
Read more »
Michigan: Anti-Israel Protesters Chant ‘Death to America,’ ‘Death to Israel’ on International Al-Quds DaySource of breaking news and analysis, insightful commentary and original reporting, curated and written specifically for the new generation of independent and conservative thinkers.
Read more »