AFTER LIFE
What is a death doula?
RILEY Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, has completed her training to become a death doula following the death of her brother.
Benjamin Keough .
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What is a death doula?
The non-profit International End of Life Doula Association is "dedicated to advancing the end of life doula approach" pioneered by Henry Fersko-Weiss in 2003.
"Doulas provide emotional, spiritual, and physical support at an intensely personal and crucial time," according to the organization.
"They assist people in finding meaning, creating a legacy project, and planning for how the last days will unfold.
"Doulas also guide and support loved ones through the last days of life and ease the suffering of grief in its early stages."
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The organization offers comprehensive online training programs.
“We journey with the person who’s dying and their family to help them navigate through the whole end-of-life process,” Janie Rakow, president of the New Jersey-based organization, told the in 2019.
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Why does Riley Keough want to become a death doula?
Riley Keough, the and granddaughter of , lost .
"Today I finished my Death Doula training ... so I guess I’m an almost certified death doula now," shen wrote on Instagram in March of 2021.
"We are taught that (death is) a morbid subject to talk about.
"Or were so afraid of it that we’re unable to talk about it ... then of course it happens to us, and we are very ill prepared."
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Riley added that it is "so important to be educated on conscious dying and death the way we educate ourselves on birth and conscious birthing.
"We prepare ourselves so rigorously for the entrance and have no preparation for our exit.
"So I’m so grateful for this community and to be able to contribute what I can."
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Benjamin Keough passed away at the age of 27 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
He was found at his mother's family home in Calabasas, California, although it is unknown if she, or her other children, were at the property at the time.
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“Other family members were told early in the morning, it is shocking news but it also isn't a huge surprise as he had been struggling," a source told The Sun.
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"Everyone is heartbroken and devastated.”
Riley, who is 31, is an actress and model.
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