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
Death doula and funeral celebrant Jill McClennen speaks with Matt Fogelson about growing up in 1980s Manhattan, then losing his workaholic father to lung cancer when Matt was 19 and his father was 46. Matt describes carrying unspoken grief for decades, using pain to stay connected, and how family silence around dying robbed them of meaningful end-of-life conversations.
He shares how music and playing guitar beca...
Death doula and funeral celebrant Jill McClennen interviews Mel Bennett, founder of Life Forest in New Hampshire, a nonprofit cemetery and public arboretum where human and pet cremated remains are buried with newly planted trees. After caring for her mother through early-onset frontal lobe dementia, Mel received her mother’s ashes in a plastic bag and box, which pushed her to create a more meaningful, healing legacy...
Death doula and funeral celebrant Jill McClennen hosts Jermaine on Seeing Death Clearly to explore how talking about death can lead to more conscious living.
Jermaine shares how a conversation revealed his mother did not understand how her 401(k) connected to real choices, which led him to help her intentionally live out long-held dreams through travel before she died suddenly from a stroke. They discuss grief, regr...
Death doula and funeral celebrant Jill McClennan hosts a conversation with Joy Jolie about how repeated loss, grief, and serious illness shaped Joy’s views on dying, healing, and end-of-life planning.
Joy describes multiple breast cancer diagnoses in her family, including her own, and shares how her mother declined chemo and radiation, while her sisters faced lasting harm and, in one case, workplace pressure to unde...
Host Jill McClennen, a death doula and funeral celebrant, talks with Jessica LeBeau-Richman, a South Jersey pet death doula, about the often overlooked grief of losing an animal and how people can stay connected through ritual, keepsakes, and conscious goodbyes.
Jessica shares how her rescue cat Sammy led her from years of nonprofit social services into end-of-life doula work for pets, and how she supports fami...
Host Jill McClennen, a death doula and funeral celebrant, speaks with Rae Dumont, a Belgian-born pediatrician turned family therapist, about caring for chronically ill children and why connection and honest, age-appropriate truth matter as much as clinical skill. Dumont discusses her novel, “In the Shadow of Silence,” about a father’s depression and suicide and the different ways children and a spouse who is also a ...
In this episode, Jill McClennen speaks with Philadelphia-area researcher and photographer Edward Snyder about abandoned and forgotten cemeteries and what they reveal about dying, grief, legacy, and conscious living. Ed explains how his interest in cemetery art grew into decades of documenting burial practices and the death care industry, including stories of cemeteries destroyed, built over, or only partly moved, le...
In this episode my guest Cristian Cibilis Bernardes, founder and CEO of Autograph and I explore how preserving memories can become a powerful part of legacy and end-of-life planning. The conversation highlights why hearing a loved one’s voice and stories can bring comfort, healing, and deeper understanding during grief.
Autograph is a platform designed to preserve people’s life stories before they are lost. Autograph...
End-of-life doula Joy Rodriguez talks with me about death doula work and supporting people who choose medical aid in dying. Medical aid in dying is often misunderstood and can be hard to access even where it is legal, especially when it is difficult to find participating providers. Joy shares her path from hospice volunteering in Washington to serving as a volunteer client advisor with End of Life Washington, helpin...
In this episode, a palliative care physician explains how early support and thoughtful end-of-life planning can reduce fear, ease suffering, and improve quality of life for patients and families.
Dr. David Casarett, chief of Palliative Care at Duke Health, describes palliative care as whole-person support that relieves symptoms and helps people make difficult medical decisions, even while receiving aggressive treatme...
In this episode, for Black History Month, Jill interviews her longtime friend Rashine Curry (Rah Rah), a mother of six from Atlantic City. Rah Rah describes how poverty, racism, and systemic bias shaped her life, including incarceration, untreated mental illness, and medical neglect in prison. She shares major losses: her daughter’s father was murdered when the baby was six months old, her longtime partner and fathe...
In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, host Jill McClennen, a death doula and funeral celebrant, speaks with Marcy Shrewsbury Lopez about her extraordinary love story and journey through grief.
Marcy shares her experience being married to her husband, who was 46 years older than her, and the deep connection they shared until his death at 98 years old.
She reflects on the challenges of caregiving and her ...
In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, host Jill McClennen, a death doula and funeral celebrant, is joined by Ken Biery, a seasoned funeral director and founder of the Funeral Service Collective. Ken shares his journey from military service into the funeral profession and the experiences that shaped his commitment to innovation and family-centered care.
Together, they explore how the funeral industry is evolving, i...
In this episode, I’m joined by Thomas Dixon, a Philadelphia native with a powerful and deeply personal story. Thomas shares his journey from working in psychiatry research to teaching middle school in South Korea, and the life-altering shift that followed a near-fatal accident in 2010. After being hit by a car, Thomas developed epilepsy and a permanent episodic memory disability that reshaped his daily life—and his ...
In this episode of 'Seeing Death Clearly,' host Jill McClennen talks with Christian Millward, a mother of six from Idaho, about her journey with grief and spirit communication. Christian shares how the deaths of her mother and seven-week-old daughter, Indi, led her to discover her spiritual connection and create the Indie Star Cards, a tool to help people communicate with loved ones who have passed away.
T...
In this episode, Michael Williams, the founder of Memoir Studio, discusses his transition from end-of-life planning to helping people write their memoirs. They explore the therapeutic power of storytelling, especially for older adults, and how sharing personal stories can offer emotional and historical value. Michael emphasizes the importance of acknowledging life's ups and downs, regrets, and failures in memoi...
In this end-of-year episode of Seeing Death Clearly, host Jill McClennen sits down with her husband Steven to reflect on three years of podcasting. As the year 2025 closes, they discuss personal and professional highlights, stoicism, aging, and emotional experiences with death and grief. They delve into broader societal issues like elder care in the United States and the balance of everyday life. Jill also shares pl...
In this episode, I welcome back Barbara Karnes to discuss the journey of transitioning from 'we' to 'me' after her husband Jack's death.
Barbara shares heartfelt stories about her early days in hospice care, highlighting the value of understanding daily responsibilities and her experiences with end-of-life preparations, emphasizing the importance of discussing finances and duties early.
We a...
In this episode of 'Seeing Death Clearly,' host Jill McClennen, a death doula and funeral celebrant, welcomes Marni Blank, a former attorney turned entrepreneur and end-of-life doula. They discuss the emotional and logistical challenges families face regarding end-of-life planning. Marni shares her personal journey, including her mother's serious accident, which highlighted the importance of having es...
In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, Dave Roberts talks about his journey navigating grief after the death of his daughter, Janine. Roberts, an addictions counselor and psychology professor, shares his perspectives on spirituality, the afterlife, and the different ways he and his wife coped with their loss while supporting each other. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining bonds with loved ones, embracing v...
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