Death Nesting

Companionship and advocacy as you live your dying. Guidance and support for the people who love you.

Let's talk.

When death moves from possible to imminent, everything shifts. The medical system tells you what is happening to your body. But alongside that, there is so much pressing in. Logistics, decisions, family dynamics, paperwork, phone calls, and underneath all of it, the weight of what is actually happening. It is hard to know what to focus on or what to do next.

I help manage the overwhelm. And then I sit with you in what matters most.

Death Nesting is for people who are dying and for the people who love them. It is steady, informed, compassionate presence during one of the most profound experiences a human being can have.

You do not have to figure this out alone.

"The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention."
—Stephen Levine

This may resonate with you if you have a question like this:

  • I just received a terminal diagnosis. What happens now?

  • How do I navigate medical care while also honoring what matters most to me?

  • I am caring for someone who is dying and feel overwhelmed. Where do I even start?

  • How do I have the hard conversations with my family that we have been avoiding?

  • What are my options for how I die, including ones I may not have heard of?

❋ Emotional & Spiritual Support

Dying brings up everything. Fear, grief, anger, relief, and even laughter. I will sit with all of it with you, without flinching and without an agenda for how it should look. This is not therapy. It is honest, steady companionship for whatever is true right now.

❋ Life Review

Looking back at a life with honesty and tenderness. What mattered. What you learned. What you are proud of and what you made peace with. Life review is not about tidying up the past. It is about finding the meaning that was there all along.

❋ Knowing Your Options

There are more choices available to you than you may know for end of life care, body disposition, and funerals. I will walk you through what is possible, help you think through what feels right, and support you in making it happen so the decisions you make feel genuinely yours.

❋ Education About What to Expect

Understanding what happens as the body shuts down, what you will see, what it means, what is normal, can transform fear into presence. When you know what to expect, you can stop bracing and start being there.

❋ Legacy Projects

The stories, wisdom, and words you want to leave behind. Letters to people you love, recorded memories, a book of photographs, a piece of art. Whatever form feels right, I will help you shape it into something that outlasts this moment and connects generations.

❋ Vigil Planning & Sitting

The final hours deserve intention. Together we think through what you want that time to look and feel like, who you want present, what you want to hear, what scents and textures bring you comfort. And when the time comes, I can sit vigil with you and your family so that no one faces that threshold alone.

❋ Practical Guidance & Advocacy

Dying comes with an unexpected amount of paperwork, phone calls, and decisions. I help you navigate the practical landscape so your energy goes toward being present rather than logistics. I can also help facilitate hard family conversations, advocate for your wishes with medical providers, and make sure the people you love know how to honor you.

❋ Caregiver Support

The people holding a dying person need holding too. Caregiving is exhausting, isolating, and profound all at once. I offer regular check-ins just for you, a place to put down what you are carrying, guidance through family dynamics, and respite so you can sustain this journey without losing yourself in it.

❋ Memorial & Celebration of Life

A funeral or memorial should reflect the person who lived, not a generic template. I help you design a gathering that is truly theirs, whether that is a traditional service, an intimate home ceremony, a celebration in a place they loved, or something entirely your own. You do not have to plan this from scratch in the fog of fresh loss.

  • I will not rush you. I will not look away.

    I came to this work through my own reckoning with mortality. I bring death doula training and hospice experience to every person I serve. And I promise to see you as a human being, not a medical event, for every moment we are together.

    "The ultimate touchstone of friendship is witness — the privilege of having been seen by someone." - David Whyte

    Reach out, I am here.

How We Work Together

We begin with a complimentary conversation to understand where you are and what you need. From there we create a flexible plan that moves with you, because death rarely follows a predictable path. Some clients need support for weeks or months before active dying begins. Others reach out when the final days arrive. There is no one right way to do this, and there is no wrong time to call. We will figure it out together.

  • "My lifelong friend faced one of the most difficult decisions imaginable in the midst of profound suffering. Working with Jessica helped make an overwhelming situation feel more supported, thoughtful, and humane. Jessica met each moment with deep compassion, clarity, and respect. She never rushed the process or imposed her own views, instead helping my friend feel heard, grounded, and empowered in his decisions. Jessica was with him until the very end. I can't imagine going through this process without her help."

    - Diana, loved one of dear client

  • "It's complicated to think of honoring a loved one's life in a single ceremony. How to reflect, rejoice and let go all at once. The memorial service that Jessica put together for my mother-in-law felt whole. She was adept at weaving together our need for personal connection, emotional expression and spiritual awareness. Everyone's involvement was embraced, and we took up space with words and silence, laughter and tears. It was deeply meaningful, a beautiful reflection of the woman she was and the beauty she left behind."

    - Melissa, memorial participant

My door is open.

I am ready to meet you wherever you are. Let’s start the conversation and see where it goes.

Come on in.