Seeing Death Clearly
Seeing Death Clearly is a show that challenges you to think about your beliefs about death, dying, grief, and living life. I am your host, Jill McClennen, a death doula and end-of-life coach. As a death doula, I found through first-hand experience that the more I came to terms with my thoughts and feelings about death and dying, the more present I became in my everyday life and I hope to share that with you too, how you can live a better life by having a healthier relationship with death and dying. Each episode features a guest who shares their beliefs and stories about death and dying. These are honest conversations about a topic most of us avoided talking about our entire lives. I am on a mission to change that, one conversation at a time.
Episodes
89 episodes
Turning Toward Grief with Grief Coach and Death Midwife Naila Francis
In this episode my guest is Naila Francis, a grief coach, poet, interfaith minister, and community grief tender dedicated to providing compassionate, holistic support for those navigating grief, loss, and dying. Born in Barbados and raised a...
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Episode 88
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47:11
Whitney Chew’s Insights on Death, Burnout, and Healthcare's Gaps
Whitney Chew, born and raised in California, recently moved to New York. As a physician, she completed her residency during the pandemic. However, less than a year after finishing, Whitney realized that being a physician wasn’t her long-term...
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Episode 87
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36:30
How to Create Empowered Endings with Dr. Bob Uslander
Dr. Bob Uslander, based in San Diego, runs a medical practice called Empowered Endings with his wife and partner, Elizabeth. Their work focuses on supporting people through difficult end-of-life journeys and providing personalized in-home ca...
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Episode 86
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46:23
Community-Led Death Care with Kelly Butler
Kelly Butler, based in Ottawa, Ontario, has lived in various parts of Canada and the U.S. She’s a mother of five and has worked in the realm of death and dying for 30 years, starting with hospice work in Atlanta, Georgia. For Kelly, the cycl...
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Episode 84
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38:32
Jill Bodak on Caregiving and Medically Assisted Death
Jill Bodak, an osteopath in Toronto, Ontario, shares the deeply personal story of her father’s stroke in 2020, which flipped her world upside down. His stroke happened unexpectedly while skiing on the other side of the country, and what foll...
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Episode 84
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40:22
David Downie's Journey From HIV Nurse to End of Life Patient Part 2
In this episode, David Downie shares his profound journey, reflecting on his life and health as he nears the end of his time. Now in his 70s, he opens up about his long battle with heart issues, including multiple valve surgeries, and the ch...
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Episode 83
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31:52
David Downie's Journey From HIV Nurse to End of Life Patient Part 1
This episode is the first part of a two part episode where I had a deeply personal conversation with my friend David Downie, a former nurse who worked during the early days of the HIV pandemic. As someone who grew up in the 80s, I was aware ...
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Episode 82
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30:53
Dr. Viola Pierce's Vision for a New Healthcare Future
Dr. Viola Pierce, or Dr. V, has had a truly remarkable journey in the nursing profession, from starting as an LPN to becoming a doctorally prepared nurse with extensive experience in the emergency department. Her passion for nursing and educ...
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Episode 81
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42:04
Rose Luardo’s Exploration of Life and Death Part 2
Rose Luardo is a vibrant, multifaceted artist living in South Philadelphia, where she engages in various odd jobs, art projects, and gigs. She's a person who's always been intrigued—and admittedly a bit obsessed—with the concept of death.
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Episode 80
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37:06
Rose Luardo’s Exploration of Life and Death Part 1
Rose Luardo is a vibrant, multifaceted artist living in South Philadelphia, where she engages in various odd jobs, art projects, and gigs. She's a person who's always been intrigued—and admittedly a bit obsessed—with the concept of death, a ...
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Episode 79
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33:14
Life, Death, and Spiritual Growth with Indra Rinzler
Indra Rinzler is an astrologer who has been on a spiritual journey for over 50 years, specializing in Vedic astrology and the Enneagram of Personality. His work focuses on helping people discover their true selves, beyond who they think they...
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Episode 78
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41:12
Beyond the Veil and Living Fully with Stephanie Chevrier
Stephanie Chevrier, an artist based in Vancouver, Canada, has found herself deeply immersed in the exploration of death, reality, and what it means to be human. As an artist, she primarily works as a tattoo artist and illustrator, with a str...
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Episode 77
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44:01
Rev. Christine Davies on Chaplaincy and Spiritual Support in the Hospital
Rev. Christine Davies, the director of pastoral care at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, shares her journey into hospital chaplaincy. As an ACPE supervisor and seminary professor, she teaches the art of h...
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Episode 76
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43:43
A Daughter's Intimate Journey with Her Father with Yvonne Caputo on the Power of Advanced Directives
Yvonne Caputo, from Southeastern Pennsylvania, is deliciously semi-retired after a varied career. She began in education, moved to the area, and leveraged her second master's degree in clinical psychology to work in employee assistance. Even...
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Episode 75
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49:42
Together For Sharon: George Ackerman’s Story of Love and Advocacy
In this episode, George Ackerman, also known as “Sharon's son George”, shares his deeply personal journey of caring for his mother, who battled Parkinson's disease.He lost his mother, Sharon Riff Ackerman, on 1/1/2020 due to Parkinso...
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Episode 74
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37:29
Helping Spirits Move On: Understanding the Journey of Souls with Dr. Marie Gasper-Hulvat
Dr. Marie Gasper Hulvat, hailing from Canton, Ohio, originally grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. She is a human design specialist, an intuitive EFT practitioner, and a trained Reiki master teacher in the Tibetan Usui tradition. Her journey began w...
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Episode 73
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35:28
Halo Nest: Poetry and Grief with Sean Lynch
Sean Lynch has been writing his whole life. His first poetry book was published over a decade ago in 2013; since then, he's released four more. His latest book, “Halo Nest: poems on grief” is a deeply personal collection about grief, began n...
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Episode 72
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39:55
Shelby Forsythia on Navigating Grief
Shelby Forsythia helps grieving people move through the pain and overwhelm of loss to experience peace, purpose, and joy again. She believes everyone deserves a good life, even if it’s not the one they thought they’d be living. Shelby Forsyt...
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Episode 71
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46:29
Life and Death in the ER with Dr. Jeffrey Sankoff
Dr. Jeffrey Sankoff, originally from Montreal, Quebec, Canada moved to Denver over two decades ago, where he has been practicing as an emergency physician while raising their children. Outside of medicine, Dr. Sankoff is an avid triathlete a...
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Episode 70
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44:21
Insights from Lisa Pahl the Creator of The Death Deck
Lisa Pahl is a licensed clinical social worker in LA, she has extensive experience in community mental health, domestic violence, and supporting survivors of torture. Early in her career, she worked at the Florida Cent...
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Episode 69
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39:05
Fertility and Grief with Ashley Holmes
In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, I spoke with my friend Ashley Holmes, a Holistic Fertility Coach dedicated to supporting women struggling with infertility by bringing mind, body, and spirit into balance. Her journey began from perso...
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Episode 68
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44:40
From Anger to Empathy: Rediscovering My Mother's Story with Stephanie Jones
My guest in this episode is Stephanie Jones. One significant childhood memory involves the first time she remembers discussing death. This incident led to a brief conversation about death, spurred by her grandmother's passing soon after. Gro...
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Episode 67
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41:00
Boys, Emotions, and Cultural Expressions of Grief with Brendan Kwiatkowski
In this episode, my guest is Dr. Brendan Kwiatkowski, an educator, researcher, and speaker focused on the social-emotional development and well-being of boys and men. Brendan, who earned his Ph.D. in Education from the University of Edinburg...
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Episode 66
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43:47
Living Fully, Dying Gracefully: Insights from Ashley Oppon
In this episode, my guest is Ashley Oppon, host of "Dine with the Divine." Ashley, a registered nurse from New Jersey, describes her nursing job as her "muggle job," revealing her love for theology and religion. Growing up Catholic, Ashley's...
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Episode 65
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45:24
Stories from End-of-Life Care with Helen Bauer Part 2
In this week's episode, I talk with Helen Bauer, host of the Heart of Hospice podcast. This is part 2 of a two-part interview. Over the years, she's observed a profound inward shift in patients as they approach death, noticing changes in the...
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Episode 64
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32:34