Hello! For anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m Nicole. I’m just another 30-something woman in South Jersey who’s obsessed with her pets. I love spending time outdoors, typically with my husband John. I’m always picking up a new hobby, and my current focuses include quilting, embroidery, writing, adult coloring books, and I would like to get back into watercolor soon. I love to read but my current to-be-read pile is far too long. Oh, and as of late, I’ve been interested in all things related to death, grief, and dementia.
I’m sure this journey I’ve been starting is a little bit confusing to some of you and might make complete sense to others. I like to think that anyone that truly knows me knows that I love helping people. I love being there when someone, anyone, needs encouragement, support, or even just a listening ear. Even as a middle schooler in Student Council I loved putting gifts together for the annual Stockings for Kids toy drive which I was always so excited to take part in, often using my birthday money to make the purchases. I remember thoughtfully choosing which age group I wanted to buy for that year, more than once going with the teens because even then I knew that group was likely underserved. I share this with you not to tout my own achievements and virtues but to really express my inner self, the drive behind much of who I am.
A little bit about how all this started: In Spring 2025 I was working my mundane office job with podcasts playing in the background. An old episode of Shrink Chicks came on (A New Perspective on Death & Dying, S6E10, Aug 5, 2024) and they spoke on a topic I was not at all familiar with: Death Doulas. I will get more into what death doulas do in a future blog, but the short answer is that we support a dying person and their family in practical, spiritual, non-medical aspects of dying, death and grief. I was intrigued but I stayed quiet, which is shocking to many of you. I didn’t even share what I’d learned with John. I sat with this new interest for months. I didn’t speak about it. I didn’t research it. I didn’t follow anyone on social media about it. But I did think about it quite a bit. Fast forward to early September, I finally shared all my thoughts with John. He was immediately supportive and told me I needed to get into this space. I’m not even sure if he fully understood the role himself just yet. I knew first thing was to be sure, and I signed up to volunteer with Samaritan Hospice. I quickly fell in love with working with people at the end of life and their families. I began to research other areas in this realm where I can assist, and my excitement continued to build, and still does. Back in Spring 2026 I completed death doula training with INELDA and started another class with Mourning Goods to become a grief coach, which I hope to finish by the end of the year. I’m also taking classes in Advanced Care Planning which should also be completed by 2027. I’m working on courses to become a coach for Mindfulness, Breathwork, and Meditation from My Vinyasa Practice and I will be taking courses to educate myself on Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Other than classes and community workshops and groups, I will be registering my LLC, obtaining insurance, and working on a few other tricks up my sleeve.
Where am I going from here? I hope to fully launch my business in the coming months, and I will be primarily focused on working as a death doula as well as a non-medical care companion until I complete the rest of my training. My priority is to prepare myself as much as I can to work with some of the most vulnerable members of our society. Thank you for joining me on this journey and please feel free to reach out if you have any questions, if you’d like to utilize my services, or if I can connect you with one of my many trusted colleagues.