As someone close to you approaches their final days, accompanying them through those last stages can upend your own life.
Moments pass quickly. Sensations arise that don’t make sense at the time.
Afterward, questions may linger — Was that normal? Were they suffering? Should I have done something differently?
The process doesn’t have to be chaotic and overwhelming. With inner anchoring, understanding, and love, it can become steadier, more intimate, and even quietly meaningful. You can also discover ways to maintain healthy bonds with loved ones after they’ve passed on.
In this heart-centered free online event with death doula and counselor Dr. Martha Jo Atkins, PhD, you’ll be introduced to the Map of Dying™ — her clear, compassionate framework that walks you through what typically unfolds along the way, from hospice decisions to the final breath.
She’ll help you gain context for common yet misunderstood experiences. This slower, kinder way of viewing the dying process honors the humanity of not knowing, as well as the deep intelligence of the body, heart, and spirit at the end of life.
If you’re sitting at a bedside unsure what each new change means, wrestling with a past loss that still holds emotional charge, or contemplating your own mortality, Dr. Martha Jo will help you understand dying as a natural process with its own unique language and rhythms — so you can feel less helpless, more aware, and better equipped to face the unknown.
Dr. Martha Jo has spent decades as a compassionate end-of-life guide, educator, and witness to life’s final thresholds. Her teaching style is nurturing, supportive, grounded, and deeply present, shaped by years of sitting with dying individuals and their families...
... and by her understanding that how we accompany death always circles back to how we live.
You’ll discover why self-compassion is a true stabilizing force when you’re facing uncertainty, regret, or emotional intensity.
During the event, Dr. Martha Jo will guide you through a gentle meditation designed to teach you how to release lingering regret and reconnect with a loved one in a symbolic, caring way, all the while restoring a sense of inner steadfastness.
Instead of focusing solely on your loss, you’ll gain a felt sense of support — a valuable tool you can return to in daily life, any time you need centering and connection.
Dr. Martha Jo’s deeply meaningful work revolves around how you arrive internally — emotionally regulated and present — when someone is nearing death. By learning how to settle your nervous system, moments that once felt overwhelming can be met with tenderness and clarity.
Dr. Martha Jo will also discuss the importance of meaning-making words — not as a way to fix the past or force resolution, but to create a gentle shift in perception capable of changing how an experience lives inside you.
You’ll learn why, when understanding changes, relationships change with it — including the relationship you carry forward with someone who has died.
A central theme of this gathering is the acknowledgment of our shared humanity: how even with love and good intentions, we may still miss crucial things. In hindsight, we don’t always say what we wish we had, and we may not recognize what’s occurring at the moment. With Dr. Martha Jo’s help, wholeness is always within reach.
