Entering Year Four of Seeing Death Clearly

In this special episode of Seeing Death Clearly, Jill reflects on three years of deep conversations about death, dying, grief, and living fully. As the podcast enters its fourth year, Jill shares what she’s learned from her incredible guests — from Holocaust survivors to hospice workers, death doulas, authors, and more.

She talks about how the podcast has evolved, the lessons it’s taught her, and the moments that have touched her deeply. Jill shares stories that moved her, guests who changed her perspective, and the surprising ways this work has impacted her life.

This episode is a heartfelt thank-you to listeners and guests, and an invitation to be part of the journey ahead. Jill also shares ways you can support the podcast and invites you to connect, share ideas, and even suggest guests you’d love to hear again.

Whether you’ve been with the podcast since the beginning or are just discovering it now, this episode is a celebration of connection, curiosity, and courage.

Email: jill@endoflifeclarity.com

Facebook: End of Life Clarity

Join the End of Life Clarity Circle Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16utkrMass/

Transcript

[00:00:00] Hello everyone and welcome to a special short episode of Seeing Death. Clearly, I don't usually do episodes by myself, so I feel a little awkward. Um, plus I have a little bit of a cold, so if my voice sounds funny, that's why, but I can't believe it. This podcast is going into its fourth year in January of 2026.

Honestly, I never imagined where this podcast would take me. It's really been full of deep conversations, learning lots of connections with people from really all around the world. When I first started this, my hope was just to create a space where we could challenge some of the ideas we all have about life, death, and grief.

A place where you can come and maybe hear a perspective that was different than what you already believed. And the truth is, I've been changed to, that's been one of my favorite parts of this work, how it has changed the way that I live my life. The format of the podcast has shifted a bit over time. When I first started out, I followed all the rules.

[00:01:00] Everybody said you had to follow. You have to have pre-written questions. You have to do pre-interviews to make sure the guest is a good fit. You need to have an intro and an outro, but slowly, those rules have started to break, and I expect they'll continue to shift in the years ahead. I don't pre-write questions anymore.

Sometimes I'll jot down a note during the recording if something a guest says, sparks a question I wanna return to. But mostly they're just conversations. I don't do pre-interviews, so for many of the guests, what you hear is literally the very first conversation we've had. If it's an author and I've been sent a copy of their book, I'll read it and sometimes have an idea of what I wanna ask about, and that's always an interesting experience because it feels like I already know them.

And I imagine some longtime listeners might feel the same way about me too. I've even had somebody recognize me out in public because they recognized my voice. Talk about a trippy feeling when that happened. Over the past four years, one of the biggest surprises for me has been [00:02:00] how willing people are to share their stories.

Especially considering when I talk to people out in the world, I'm often met with fear or hesitation. People have practically run away from me, and yet there's never been a shortage of guests willing to come on the show. I've even had people reach out to me asking to be a guest, and honestly, I've been both surprised and deeply flattered.

I've had so many incredible guests, authors, hospice, workers, death, doulas, all kinds of people. One who really stands out for me is Ben Lesser, a Holocaust survivor. Talking with him had such a huge impact on me. That time in history has always felt so far away, but talking with him made it feel so close, so real.

I feel honored by every guest who comes on the show. But with Ben, it truly felt like I was talking to a piece of living history. He recently died peacefully at almost 97 years old on September 23rd, 2025, which is the first day of the [00:03:00] Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. In Jewish tradition, someone who dies on that day is considered a person of great righteousness.

And honestly, that feels so true of Ben and the life that he lived. His story really did touch me. My friend David Downey came on the show to share his story, not just about facing the end of his own life, but also about his life as a nurse caring for AIDS patients during the height of the AIDS epidemic.

It was such a beautiful conversation and it gave me the chance to know him on a much deeper level. Earlier this year, I spent a few weeks caring for him as he neared the end of his life, coordinating his care with a group of volunteers. Since that episode aired, David has died as well. Being a part of somebody's legacy work through these episodes is truly a gift.

One of the guests I was most excited about was Barbara Carnes. She's a little bit of a celebrity in the world of end of life care. Trying to explain to my teen and preteen why I was so excited when I booked her for the show. If [00:04:00] you can imagine your favorite YouTuber wanting to be interviewed by you.

That's how I feel. I've also had guests like Hank Dunn, who's written books I've read when I was doing my doula training. Honestly, all of it still feels like a dream to me. I've shared my own personal story of sitting with my aunt as she died, and my husband and I have made it a bit of a tradition to do an episode at the end of the year to share what's changed for us and what we've learned.

I truly love my podcast, and I'm so grateful to all of my guests and listeners for being part of this journey. I think one of the things that keeps me going with the podcast is that each guest brings something different, something I didn't know before. I've had conversations that have inspired me to grow personally.

For example, I recently took a funeral celebrant training because of a podcast guest, Carolyn FIUs Carpenter. Who's a death dual and also a funeral celebrant, something I'd never heard before. I've talked with people about rituals, finding support in grief, about pre-planning, and about what happens [00:05:00] after we're gone.

Conversations about how our stories live on all of it has shaped how I view death and grief and how I live my own life. Hosting this podcast has cracked me open in ways I didn't expect. I've shed tears, I've laughed out loud. I've had moments that stayed with me long after the recording stopped talking about death.

And grief doesn't always have to be heavy. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's comforting, but it's always real and that's been a gift to me. It's taught me empathy, courage, and the importance of just making space for these conversations. Looking ahead. My vision is pretty simple. I just wanna keep this podcast going.

I wanna keep learning and sharing and bringing these stories to you. The audience has grown steadily over the years, and I'm so grateful for every listener who's been here along the way. But I'll be honest, this work as a death rule is tough to make financially sustain. If I end up needing to take a full-time job in the future, it'll be harder for me to keep the BA [00:06:00] podcast going the way that I want to.

So if you find value in seeing death, clearly there is some ways you can help keep it alive. You can do a one-time donation or join the paid subscription feature. Even a small amount helps to cover the cost of running the podcast. You can also share an episode on social media or just send a link to somebody who might benefit from hearing it.

You could even get creative with sharing, like posting a clip of you listening or a photo with a few words about what the episode meant to you. Another simple way to support is to subscribe on your favorite platform. Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcast, whatever you use to listen, just search Seeing Death clearly.

And then usually there's a little subscribe button right next to it. If you just click that button, you'll subscribe. And the more people that subscribe, the more the platforms kind of push the show out to new listeners. Even leaving a review, especially a five star one, makes a huge difference. [00:07:00] And of course, there's other ways to support me too.

You can buy a t-shirt from my website or hire me to create an end of life care plan for you and your loved ones. Or I can even write and conduct a funeral celebration where I share your loved one's story. Whatever way you choose to support it means more than you know. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you.

Thank you for listening, for sharing, for being here with me through these conversations. You really do make this possible. I wanna invite you to connect with me. If you've got any questions you'd like me to answer, stories you'd like me to share, or a guest you'd like to hear again, please let me know. I already have a few guests in mind to bring back to the show next year, so if there's anybody you can think of, let me know.

You can always email me. There is a link to my email address in the show notes, but it would just be Jill at end of life clarity.com or you can find me on social media. I also wanna invite you to join my Facebook group End of Life [00:08:00] Clarity Circle. It's a space where everybody's welcome to start and join in conversations about death, dying grief, and living life to the fullest.

It's a death positive space created to encourage connection, learning, and support around the topic that can be difficult to talk about with friends and family. This four year milestone isn't just about the podcast, it's about the community we've built together. Thank you for listening, for sharing, and for making this journey possible.

Here's to another year of curiosity, courage, and conversation. Thank you for being part of this journey with me.