We Talk
A diagnosis is overwhelming. We start with you — you talk, I listen, without judgment – your thinking settles. There are no fixes here; my role is holding space while you figure out how you want this to unfold.
Initial 30 minute consultation free
The scenarios and rates below are starting points – not limitations. Capacity, rather than finances, determines who I work with — if cost is a concern, let’s talk.
Advance Directive
This is for anyone who cares about what happens to them if they can’t speak for themselves.
We talk through:
- Who you trust to speak for you — and what to do if you don’t have someone
- What matters most if your health suddenly changed
- Where your limits are with life-sustaining treatment
- Your spiritual needs – or not
- Your wishes for your body after death
Your answers become a properly witnessed Advance Directive, registered with the state so it can be found when needed — and we’ll cover how it differs from a Do Not Resuscitate or COLST / MOLST order.
$50/hour, generally several hours
Care Coordination & Respite Support
Vermont is rural, services are thin, and it shows — hard on older adults here, and on kids worrying from elsewhere.
This is for:
- Local Vermonters wanting steady support
- Out-of-state families wanting someone trusted nearby
I become a steady local presence: errands, meal prep, coordinating appointments, a point person from afar, and respite when you need a break.
Respite Support $50/hour, care coordination based on need
Legacy Work & Death Cleaning
As life narrows, many people turn to organizing what they’ll leave behind — the physical and the personal. Sorting belongings, photos, and papers now, while you can still guide it, turns treasured items into gifts instead of burdens. It’s also a doorway into telling your story, and turning it into something lasting.
Out of that, we can make whatever feels right, or nothing at all:
- Sorting and passing along keepsake items, photos & important papers
- Creating a story of your life in your own words
- Collecting and preserving a book of family recipes
- Writing letters to relatives for their future milestones
- Taking one last meaningful trip
$50/hour, project pricing happily provided
Bedside Presence & Vigil Sitting
When death is beginning, calm presence is the only need left. The plans are made — this is quiet work. I simply stay, so no one has to be alone when they die.
$50/hour (day), $75/hour (overnight)
What Happens to Your Body
Your last real choice is what happens to your body — and in Vermont, you have more options than most realize: a home funeral, a natural burial on public or private land, cremation, alkaline hydrolysis or a funeral home viewing with a graveside service.
Vermont doesn’t require a funeral director; loved ones can legally care for the body and even perform home burials themselves – on their own land. New York does — a licensed funeral director must handle care after death, though you can still hold a meaningful home vigil and plan your funeral.
In Vermont, I can rehearse this with you ahead of time: from cleaning and shrouding to moving and preparing the body for transport and burial — so it’s not something you’re learning in the moment.
Project pricing happily provided
What This Can Look Like
We talk until what matters becomes clear, starting with an Advance Directive — so if something changes suddenly, no one in your family has to guess or argue about what you’d have wanted.
As things progress, I’m a steady presence: coordinating care, running errands, easing worry for family far away. On calmer days, we sort belongings and photographs, turning treasures into gifts instead of leaving them for someone else to sort out. We make time for your stories too — a letter to a grandchild not yet born, a recipe finally written down.
When death begins, I simply stay. Maybe music, maybe silence — either way, no one is alone. And if you’ve chosen burial on your own land, we’ll have already walked through what the law requires, so it’s a choice your family can actually carry out.