Biographical:

I love to listen to stories. This is because I am inspired by the culture created and cultivated through narrative, especially within a medical context. I like to call myself a “life story drafter” in-training, as I learn to listen well and creatively convey the message of the life lived uncensored. This is why I particularly enjoy those stories of the dying or bereaved.

I also believe Jesus has something to teach about this universally inescapable portion of our lives, as we reach the end and grapple with the pain and the indignity that emerges.

Death is a rupture, a break in the fabric of our stories that shakes and scares us. Anne Lammott notes brilliantly that dying people live “big, round hours”. This is because they know best what it means live with sincere intention, and frankly: it’s contagious.

Such stories can bring healing.

I am on the cusp of completing my Masters degree in Thanatology, a field dedicated to the study of death, dying and bereavement. By this November, I hope to be an officially Certified Thanatologist.

In the meantime, I’m loving volunteering with Hospice and working an oft-dreary office job. I’m taking time to soak up life in the between…usually this includes having my nose stuck in a book, with a fresh cup of black coffee in hand and some classic jazz on deck for when I finish! I also love classic film, especially those of Hitchcock and McCarey.

I’m currently making my home in Frederick, Maryland with my dreamy husband Josh, and my little striped cat named Carl.