I wanted to talk a little about what was happening in the background of 2024 and its been a while since I introduced myself (if I ever have) so before we end this podcast I just wanted to say "Hi" and thank you to The Estate and Elder of Central Virginia for their support. Big Thanks to Scout Wiles and Frank Bassett for their production work! Have an amazing 2025!
From Elder to Ancestor is a new book from Kelley Harrell, an animist, death walker and death doula. Cricket and Kelley discuss the ethical creation of a personal ancestor practice, tending to inherited trauma, working to heal unquiet spirits of place or familial ancestry and so much more. Share your thoughts with us and follow the Death and Tea Podcast on Instagram and TikTok.
Find Kelley Harrell at https://www.soulintentarts.com/
Robert W. Haley is a Certified Advanced Practitioner of Elder Law (and Cricket, AKA Ryvyn's husband). In this episode, Robert and Cricket discuss all the common questions people have about pre-planning for the end-of-life, the funeral, Powers of Attorney, Health Care documents, The Living Will and the Last Will & Testament. We even discuss how to handle LGBTQIA partnerships at death and more. Robert is a wealth of information and experience, you might want to take notes on this one!
Note: If you notice the questions are somewhat redundant in the middle its because this interview was recorded individually twice, so we have put the recordings together back to back. Robert answered them differently so we thought it best to include both recordings. If you have more questions please email us at ryvyn@deathandtea.com.
Gratitude for audio editing by Frank Bassett.
Graphics by Scout Wiles.
Suzanne Worthley is an energy healing practitioner and intuitive who has focused on death and dying for 20 years. She has played a vital role in partnership with families and hospice teams, helping the dying have a peaceful transition and helping families and caregivers understand what is happening and energetically during the process.
In this episode, Cricket speaks with Steve Hodges, a pianist, cancer survivor and coach, hospice volunteer, and he is dying. This conversation goes deep into the places most people are not comfortable with, Steve is willing to be open and revealing about his experiences from both sides of the aisle. Hail the Traveler to Steve for sharing his unique journey with us. www.youtube.com/@SteveHodgesPianoZooms
This episode is an in-depth discussion with Jay Brooks the Executive Director of The Old City Cemetary of Lynchburg Virginia. This unique Grave Garden is not only 200 years old with fascinating residents. It is also an extensive Arboretum providing the community with classes for Master Gardners, Headstone restoration enthusiasts, genealogy assistance, and even entertaining historical tours sharing the lives of their more colorful residents. Jay and his team have successfully recreated the Victorian Death culture's aspect of making the City cemetery a community hub AND so much more. Listen to this episode to find out!
In this episode, Dr. Chris Miller of the University of Ottawa discusses the research projects: "Speaking of Death: Understanding, Participation and Death Cafes" and his research paper, "Non-Religious Afterlife: Emerging Understandings of Death and Dying". This surprising interview reveals new trends in death and afterlife beliefs from those who are and are not religiously affiliated.
Hello again, Grab a cup of tea and your head phones and take a moment to be grateful for your life by contemplating your death. Discussion includes: the Right to Die Movement being the right to physician-assisted suicide or human euthanasia for people suffering from incurable diseases, Dr. Kevorkian case, the case of Karen Ann Quinlan, Nancy Beth Cruzan case. Recommended reading for funeral celebrates and death doulas in Virginia, mostly Christian and Pagan based books.
For more information follow me at Ryvyn Lefey on Facebook or Death & Tea on Patheos.com