Becoming Soil When You Die – Human composting aka Natural Organic Reduction is a thing!

I am a gardener by nature and have tended a few compost piles over the years. I found the benefits of maintaining the heap of nutrient-dense material totally outweighed some minor annoyances that went along with the process, like field mice moving in and chickens spreading the pile all over the yard. I love the …

Death Leads the Way – Why I continue to follow the invitations and you should too

I received a new invitation and I want to share it with you! While I prefer to plan out my life, make goals and work diligently towards them, shite happens despite my wishes and best efforts. Sometimes when shite happens, I have decisions to make: Follow the invitations or try to go some other way. …

My Conversation about Medical Aid-in-Dying in California – Listen to community radio KVMR 89.5 Embracing the Journey Podcast with Lori Burkhart Frank

A podcast focused on the peace and freedom that comes from talking about death. Embracing the journey means accepting the inevitability of death and discussing our values and priorities in terms of life and death.

10 Things Californians Should Know about Medical Aid-in-Dying & Why it Matters to Me

Writing and speaking publicly about my mother's death story makes my heart pick up the beat and sing from the depths where love, compassion, and our relationship lives. My mother died from breast cancer in February 2018. She used medical aid-in-dying to end unbearable pain and suffering caused by terminal cancer's relentless growth and destruction …

Another Thing to Expect When Your Mother Dies – A Year Later – Life is But a Breath

Originally published in 2019 - edited & reposted 2/4/21 A year of my life is history; a year my mother was not here to experience the ups and downs of everyday life, the blooms in her gardens, or the thunder of last week's storms. Breast cancer claimed her for its statistical rollcall in February 2018, …

Pandemic Poetry: In the Clouds

Painting a cloud study leads to a poem.

Writing Prompt: Birthday on U.S. Presidential Election Day 2020

As I contemplated my 55th birthday falling on the U.S. presidential election day this year, and all that hinged upon the outcome, questions kept coming up. What is an electionday (space deleted intentionally) but a birth shared by millions? By the world?

Watercolor Art for Fundraiser & Grief Processing – UH-1H Super Huey Cal Fire Helicopter

I immersed myself in painting a Cal Fire Super Huey helicopter after reading about the helicopter pilot, Michael Fournier, who died fighting a fire last week. Then I realized why I was so compelled.

Mindfully Creative – Rerecording over the Critic’s Judgment

Creativity is therapeutic, it's survival, built into our brains as human beings so that we may overcome challenges, solve problems, process experiences, and tell our stories to those who need to know them, and to ourselves.

Whooping Cough During the Pandemic. It’s a No Joke, Pesky Little Bacteria You Don’t Want. Creativity Helps Me Deal.

Whooping cough is no joke.