Resources
Resources
Navigating the end-of-life experience—whether for yourself or a loved one—can be deeply emotional and profoundly personal. To support you through this journey, we’ve curated a collection of video, audio, and book resources. These materials offer compassionate insights, practical tools, and wisdom to help you find comfort, clarity, and connection during this time. Whether you’re seeking guidance on care planning, ways to create meaningful rituals, or reflections on grief and legacy, these resources are here to inspire and empower you.
Take your time exploring, and remember that you don’t have to walk this path alone.
When we acknowledge our mortality, we gain the power to design how we meet the end—with grace, clarity, and peace.
Books
This collection of carefully selected titles offers insights into the many dimensions of end-of-life care, grief, and the human experience. From practical guides to deeply moving memoirs and spiritual reflections, these books are here to support you, whether you’re a caregiver, a loved one, or preparing for your own transition.
Each recommendation is chosen with care to offer knowledge, solace, and inspiration. Feel free to explore and find the stories and guidance that resonate with your journey.
eBook versions are available on sites such as Better World Books, Bookshop.org, Biblio, Kobo, eBooks.com, Barnes & Noble, Blackwell’s (UK), Apple Books, Google Play Books, Amazon Kindle, etc.
On Death and Dying
What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy and Their Own Families by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Being with Dying
Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death by Joan Halifax
The Five Invitations
Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully by Frank Ostaseski
A Year to Live
How to Live This Year as If It Were Your Last by Stephen Levine
End of Life / Dying / Death
- On Death and Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy and Their Own Families by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
- A Year to Live: How to Live This Year as If It Were Your Last by Stephen Levine
- Who Dies?: An Investigation of Conscious Living and Conscious Dying by Stephen Levine
- Five Invitations by Frank Ostaseski
- A Beginner’s Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death by BJ Miller
- How To Talk With Sick, Dying and Grieving People: When there are No Magic Words to Say by Patrick Shawn Riecke
- Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
- Advice for Future Corpses (and Those Who Love Them): A Practical Perspective on Death and Dying by Sallie Tisdale
- The Art of Dying Well: A Practical Guide to a Good End of Life by Katy Butler
- Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying by Maggie Callanan & Patricia Kelley
- The Needs of the Dying: A Guide for Bringing Hope, Comfort, and Love to Life’s Final Chapter by David Kessler
- Saying Goodbye: A Guide to Coping with a Loved One’s Terminal Illness by Barbara Okun
- Walking Each Other Home: Conversations on Loving and Dying by Mirabai Bush & Ram Dass
- Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death by Joan Halifax
- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanith
- Finding Peace at the End of Life: A Death Doula’s Guide for Families and Caregivers by Henry Fersko-Weiss
Best Uplifting Books
- Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man and Life’s Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom
- The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying by Nina Riggs
- The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)
- The Last Doctor: Lessons in Living from the Front Lines of Medical Assistance in Dying by Dr. Jean Marmoreo and Johanna Schneller
- This Is Assisted Dying: A Doctor’s Story of Empowering Patients at the End of Life by Stefanie Green, MD
Grief
- The Other Side of Sadness: What the New Science of Bereavement Tells Us About Life After Loss by George A. Bonanno
- It’s OK That You’re Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand by Megan Devine
- Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief by Dr. Joanne Cacciatore
- Grief One Day at a Time: 365 Meditations to Help You Heal After Loss by Alan Wolfelt
- The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief by Francis Weller
- The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss by Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD
Articles
End-of-Life Doula Care / Death Doulas
- Death Doulas Provide Aid at the End of Life | NY Times
- End-of-Life Doulas: The Professionals Who Guide the Dying | The Guardian
- Doulas for the Dying: Companions during the final days of life | Psychology Today
- End-of-life doulas: Providing care and comfort to the dying and their loved ones
- Learning to Serve the Dying: End-of-life doulas provide a new type of caregiving to patients and families
- How End of Life Doulas Can Be of Service to LGBTQ Adults
- Services a Death Doula Provides
- A Good Ending: End-of-life doulas are destigmatizing death to help the dying end their lives well
If Someone You Love is Dying
Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)
- Get the facts: Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) law
- Medical assistance in dying: Legislation in Canada
- Dying people deserve a choice. Let them make it
- Supporting a loved one through MAID: Gill’s Story
- Circle of life: Former Victoria maternity doctor now helps terminally ill end their suffering
- The Doctor Who Helped Me Understand My Mom’s Choice to Die
Death Positive Movement
Audio
Audio resources can be a comforting and accessible way to find guidance and support during the end-of-life journey. This section includes a variety of options, from audiobooks and podcasts to healing audio tools like self-hypnosis recordings and meditative apps. These resources are designed to offer practical advice, emotional support, and tools for relaxation and healing.
Whether you’re seeking insights to navigate the challenges of caregiving, soothing practices to ease stress, or reflections on grief and transformation, these audio resources provide a gentle companion for your journey. Listen in moments of quiet, reflection, or rest, and let these voices and sounds offer the care and understanding you need.
Audiobooks
Most of the recommended books listed above are also available as audiobooks on apps/sites such as Sounds True, Libro.fm, Audiobooks.com, Audible, Google Play Audiobooks, Apple Audiobooks, etc. Please refer to the previous section and search for the title in your preferred audiobook site.
Podcasts
Podcasts offer a diverse and engaging way to explore stories, insights, and expert guidance on end-of-life care, grief, and healing. Here are some podcasts we recommend to support you on your journey.
- The Art of Dying Well hosted by James Abbott
- End-of-Life University Podcast hosted by hospice physician Dr. Karen Wyatt
- End of Life Conversations Podcast
- Seeing Death Clearly by Jill McClennen
- Best Life Best Death by Diane Hullet
- The Dying Matters Podcast by Hospice UK / Dying Matters
- All There Is with Anderson Cooper
- The Death With Dignity Podcast hosted by Andrew Flack (living with terminal cancer)
- Death Doula Chats Podcast hosted via the Death Doula Ontario Network
- Ask a Death Doula by Suzanne B. O’Brien RN
- The Dishing Doulas Podcast by Death Doula Network International
- Comforting Closure: Conversations with a Death Doula by Traci Arieli
- The Legacy of Love: Estate Planning Simplified for Mothers by Sara Ecklein
- Tara Brach Talks
Self-Hypnosis
Self-hypnosis recordings can be a powerful tool for relaxation, stress relief, and emotional healing. Here are some trusted resources to support your well-being.
- HypnosisDownloads.com
- Stress relief for caregivers
- Caring for a terminally ill relative
- Help dealing with grief
- Overcome fear of death
- Grieving the death of a parent
- Grieving the death of a partner
- Grieving the death of a child
- Coping with the suicide of a loved one
- Grieving the death of a pet
- Overcome fear of losing loved ones
- Guided Mindfulness Meditation
- Overcome anticipatory anxiety
- Overcome overwhelm
- Keep Calm and Carry On
― Evan Esar
Videos
Why Thinking About Death Helps You Live a Better Life | Alua Arthur | TED
A death doula speaks to how facing mortality can bring clarity, urgency, and meaning to how we live.
How Death Doulas Help in Final Moments | CTV News
A CTV News segment showing how doulas support individuals and families in their last days.
End-of-Life Doula Talks Importance of ‘Advance Care Planning’ | The Social
Denyse Burns discusses why planning ahead matters in end-of-life care.
Elizabeth Gilbert – All The Way to the River | The Moth
In this Moth story, author Elizabeth Gilbert recounts caring for her partner through terminal cancer, releasing her ideas of how death “should” unfold while witnessing her partner’s fierce insistence on living fully.(September 2025)
Passing On — Death, Dying, and End of Life Planning (full documentary)
A full-length documentary weaving personal stories about dying, planning, and how we approach death.
What Really Matters at the End of Life | Dr. BJ Miller
At the end of our lives, what do we most wish for? For many, it’s simply comfort, respect, love. Dr. BJ Miller is a palliative care physician who thinks deeply about how to create a dignified, graceful end of life for his patients. Take the time to savor this moving talk, which asks big questions about how we think on death and honor life.
The Power of Vulnerability
In this TED Talk, Brené Brown explores how embracing vulnerability—our fears, imperfections, and uncertainties—can lead us to courage, connection, and a wholehearted life. (January 2011)