Death Doula Alua Arthur on How and Why to Prepare for the End

KQED's Forum

Alua Arthur is a death doula — someone who helps people prepare logistically, mentally and emotionally for the end of life. There are practical considerations, like memorial planning and medical directives. And then there’s the act of thinking how we’d ideally want to die — outdoors or indoors, surrounded by loved ones, arguments resolved — that shows what’s most important to us and can help us live in alignment with those priorities. Arthur’s new memoir, “Briefly Perfectly Human,” is an account of the relationships she formed with her dying clients and the reflections they shared with her — including regrets in romance and work, their vulnerabilities in a failing body and what brought them authentic joy. We’ll talk to Arthur about how to ease our transitions to death and hear how tending to the dying has shaped her own life and outlook.

Guests:

Alua Arthur, death doula, attorney, and adjunct professor; author, “Briefly Perfectly Human: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real About the End"; founder, Going with Grace — a death doula training and end-of-life planning organization