LEARNING TO SAY GOODBYE

Exploring death, grief, and the space between

I learned to talk about death the hard way. Four people I loved died in quick succession. I said goodbye to none of them. That inability to say goodbye broke me - and ultimately, it transformed me.

From Loss to Mission

My mother died first. Cancer, fast and brutal. Then two close friends. Then Kathrin- my soul sister since childhood - in a car accident. Four cascading losses without closure.

I went from corporate executive to pediatric end-of-life doula, sitting with families as their children die. Through end-of-life reiki, I help create the goodbyes I never got - heart-to-heart, soul-to-soul connections when words fail.

This work gave me a unique perspective on death and life. It became a memoir that uses magical realism to tell the truth about grief. And it inspired a podcast where I explore death from every angle - because the more we talk about it, the better we live.

- Alexandra Dionisio