**APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN FOR AUG-NOV 2022**
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It is crucial, now, that deathcare be revived as a healthy part of community. Deathcare is ancient and belongs to no one and belongs to everyone- but we have lost our way. Through examining our own mortality, fears and aspirations, and discovering the challenges of today's complexities of caring for our own dying and dead, we will begin to understand the great importance and urgency of reviving community deathcare. There are many courses to train you within a system of professional care to be a Death Doula (I can recommend some) this training is for deepening the roots of healing within your self, your home and your physical community. Apply by submitting a one page summary of why you would like to be a a village deathcare citizen to strengthen your community and bring deep loving healing into your own life.
NEXT UPCOMING COURSE: AUGUST 2022
**APPLICATIONS CLOSED**
Next session coming in summer 2022
Are you ready to timewalk down the path of your ancestors?
Studying ancestry is not necessarily a leisurely walk in a well-groomed park. I say this as both a warning and an invitation. This work can be like an overgrown tangle of skeletons, of dead ends, swamps of no return, and unexpected discoveries of shimmering rivers of fool’s gold. You might encounter a family trauma that you always suspected might be there… or a trauma that catches your breath and pains your heart because you had no idea. Or, you might presently have a life filled with sorrow and abandonment and yet you consider yourself a survivor… you might find and befriend another brave survivor in your ancestry.
Decolonize your mind, learn your ancestral traumas and strengths, and ready yourself to be a changed human being.
Two paths to choose from for this course:
Ancestral Tree or Bone Finder
Death Nesting incorporates ancient and modern death doula techniques, mindfulness practices and herbal support to physically, emotionally and spiritually care for the actively dying. The focus is on "whole being" caregiving for home deaths but can be implemented into other settings such as acute care to create a more holistic experience.
Learn more about Anne-Marie's current and upcoming books on her author site. Click below!
For ages 11+ the Ancient Death Doula Series aims at empowering youth in death education and is an excellent intergenerational read. The Death of Faefolk and Beneath the Bone Tree (released June 2021) are available now.
Learn more on Anne-Marie's author site- click below!
Anne-Marie writes eulogies, obituaries and ceremonies and offers consulting on Family Directed Home Funerals in Vermont. She has hands-on experience with home funerals, home burial and green burial. Please inquire for more details. Anne-Marie has passed the National Home Funeral Alliance Proficiency test and is currently enrolled in a Funeral Director certificate program in the state of Vermont. Please note: Anne-Marie is not a funeral director, mortician or undertaker.
This is from a family Anne-Marie worked with in Vermont:"We buried my dad on the hill behind his home, on the land where all three generations of our family live together. We hay, ski, and walk by his grave through the seasons. It felt peaceful and simple for us to do this at home. A friend built a plain wood coffin, and a few neighbors helped to dig the plot. This is not a weird new idea, nor is it outdated and dangerous; it is normal, and felt right and meaningful for our family." -R. Hardwick, VT
Anne-Marie is a trained nurse assistant, former Hospice volunteer and active death doula. She offers assistance with bedside care, sitting vigil, open gentle conversation, scheduling, errands, establishing a "flow" in the area of care and other care. Available for temporary respite, with the possibility of extended care. Hourly rates are sliding scale. Please inquire about your specific circumstances.
Anne-Marie also assists with planning in advance of your death which can save your loved ones much confusion at a time when emotions are heavy and unclear. Assistance with everything from organizing your records to consulting for family directed funerals.
When confronting or contemplating our mortality we often need alternative means of exploring and feeling and to trust that curiosity can be a very healing modality. Anne-Marie is a certified shadow work facilitator (Feeding Your Demons®), and Light Being Attendant (to help you connect to your own end-of-life spirit guides). She also has education and experience with ambiance preparation for guided therapeutic psilocybin sessions (under the guidance of a doctor or therapist) and participated in the conference Psychedelics for Palliative Care and the Treatment of End-of-Life Distress with Dr Anthony Bossis
Become a trained death doula and learn the most helpful techniques for caring for the dying. Through this work you will be empowering yourself to make decisions about your own life and also be of assistance to others during the most challenging moments of their life. The ancient work of deathcare belongs to the community and loved ones of the dying individual and it begins with being brave enough to want to learn.
This is a course specifically designed for teenagers although there will be many adults that wish they could join! Ages 13-19
An advocate for those whose voices are unheard, weak or forgotten, Anne-Marie believes Community Deathcare and open conversation about life and death is crucial for the health of individuals and the planet. With gentle timing, and an uplifted manner, she believes conversation about death makes our own lives and the lives of those around us more precious.
A childhood of magical play in faery forests, a barn full of animals, and teenage years in the circus formed an independent and reflective spirit. At the age of 19 Anne-Marie gave birth to her first child which only deepened her inner love and patience for herself and her wee one. Today, Anne-Marie has three children ages 24, 20 and 6 and has held fast to her circus days by teaching tight wire as a form of body/mind awareness practice.
After a decade of professional event coordination for weddings, fashion shows, concerts, festivals and conferences, Anne-Marie halted everything to work with the elderly. Propelled by her work with the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers and her love of an elderly homeless man, she became a Hospice volunteer in 2013. She continued her path of care as a licensed nurse assistant from 2013-2016 and worked with the elderly in residential care and as a private duty nurse. She was the only full time over-night "nurse" and cared for a home of 12 elderly residents. During this time she also studied herbal healing and received a certificate from Mandala Botanicals' 9 month training in Community Herbalism.
When working as the Director of Meals on Wheels in Montpelier her understanding of how often the elderly struggle living on their own with loneliness, physical ailments, embarrassment and confusion only deepened her desire to engage the able bodied in assisting the elderly. She believes that the more conversations about death and dying that spring forth in communities, the more empathy will be generated, and the better the chance the elderly, sick and dying will have companionship and a feeling of value at the end of life; this is the core of Community Deathcare.
Anne-Marie's work with people is not just generational, as she is the Head Teacher at Karmê Chöling's Family Camp in Barnet Vermont and teaches Teen Retreats year round. The newest program she offers is Death Doula Training for Teens. The course is every bit as detailed and challenging as adult programs but this one is teen friendly :)
Anne-Marie is an award-winning published author, Reiki Master Teacher, meditation and basic goodness instructor and has 12 years training in Shambhala Buddhist teachings. She has completed Level I Dying With Confidence training in Phowa with Anyen Rinpoche, completed "This Sacred Journey: Living Purposefully and Dying Fearlessly" with Pema Chodron and has completed a year long Feeding Your Demons® certification course with Tsultrim Allione. Anne-Marie has passed the National Home Funeral Alliance Proficiency test and currently in school for Funeral Director Certificate in the state of Vermont.
A Death Midwife or Doula is an individual who assists those in end of life considerations, through the dying process and possibly with post-mortem care as well. Anne-Marie is a graduate of the BEyond Yonder Virtual School of Death Midwifery (Community Deathcare). This four month course of intensive death care training (6 days per week with an average of 20 hours of work per week) covered pre-death needs to post mortem care and disposition. She is qualified to guide families in home funerals and encourages individuals to consider this as a possibility. Understanding the sudden fog that gathers when a loved one dies, Anne-Marie hopes to offer options and assistance with proceedings in a time of great pain and confusion. She currently is available to her community for consultations.
*Trainings for Death Midwives and Death Doulas (all the same thing) vary greatly. Be aware that some trainings are more thorough than others. Research the school your Death Midwife and/or Death Doula has a certificate from and always check credentials-- also note that a certificate is not needed to care for your own loved one!
After an 8 month training in the fundamentals of celebrancy, ceremonies and ritual, Anne-Marie received her certification as a Life-Cycle Celebrant with a certificate in funerals and memorials. She is a graduate of the Celebrant Foundation and Institute.
*Trainings to become a Certified Celebrant vary greatly. Be aware that some schools have better reputations and more thorough training than others. Also note that creating your own ceremony is a very powerful and healing engagement.