Through the Threshold
End of Life Doula Care
Meet Through the Threshold
Crystal Broomall, INELDA and UVM Larner College of Medicine trained End of Life Doula
I became interested in end of life care over a decade ago, and my calling to doula work in particular became clear when I had the honor of sitting vigil with my grandmother while she passed, in 2016. I came away from that experience a changed person, with a strong passion to use my years of ritual crafting and event planning experience to help guide the dying and their loved ones through the end of life process. I firmly believe that every person deserves the chance to meet death on their own terms, to die a 'good death', whatever that may look like to them. This belief fuels my desire to offer the gift of presence and planning to those facing end of life, and to help provide a sense of sacredness and deep meaning during an often scary and confusing process.
My first training in doula work came in 2009 from Nora Cedarwind Young, then of Thresholds of Life. The weekend intensive I attended was amazing, and gave me my first glimpse of what I wanted to do with my life. After several years of meandering my way through office jobs and spiritual communities, I was brought back to this work when my grandmother died. After giving myself space to grieve her, my second grandmother died, reaffirming my decision to pursue end of life doula work.
In August of 2018 I finished my deep mourning for my grandparents and others, and attended training in Raleigh, NC with the International End of Life Doula Association (INELDA). In October of 2021, I completed the End of Life Doula Certificate program from the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont. I continue to pursue other end of life learning opportunities as they present themselves, and am looking forward to completing UVM's Pet Doula program in 2025.
Services
Every family is unique, so I offer a variety of customized end of life doula services. Together, we will explore your beliefs and expectations around the last stages of life. Regardless of what services you choose, you will receive personalized, caring support on your journey. Please be in touch for more information about any of the listed services, including package pricing, and to find out what I can do to help you.
Prices can be adjusted on a sliding scale at the doula's discrection.
The gift of presence
As your doula I am committed to your wellbeing and that of your support system. I will be available either in person or electronically as needed throughout your last days and hours, to provide comfort, information, stability and support to you and your loved ones.
Initial consultation is free
Packages start at $150
Vigil Planning
A thorough vigil plan will lay out what you would like the last days and hours of your life to look like, sound like, and feel like. I will work with you to create a blueprint for the final moments of your life, to help bring your beliefs and values to the experience both for yourself and your loved ones.
Standalone service includes up to 8 hours of in-person planning and starts at $500
Legacy Project
What is remembered, lives. Legacy projects provide your loved ones with a physical artifact of your life and story. I will help you leave your legacy in the medium that best supports your story, from handicrafts to voice recordings.
Standalone service includes up to 8 hours of in-person consultation and starts at $500
Ceremony Creation
Ceremonies or rituals can help bring clarity and peacefulness to a troubled time. I will work with you and your loved ones to create blessing ways, reconciliation rituals, last breath ceremonies, pre-mortem funerals, or other rituals to allow space and time for deep, meaningful and memorable moments.
Standalone service includes up to 4 hours of in-person consultation and starts at $250
Living Funerals
A living funeral is an intensively transformative 3-hour ceremony designed to allow individuals to come face-to-face with their own mortality. Participants are welcomed to their own memorial service, asked to write their last words, and then spend time in a guided visualization of their death and re-birth.
This is a small-group workshop that can be held in various locations. Participants pay $70 per person.
Pet Doula Services
The grief and mourning we feel at or near the end of a beloved pet's life can be strong, and often does not have the same outlet as our grief about a family member or friend. I offer end of life doula services within the context of the end of a pet's life to help support you during this time of transition. Services include legacy projects, ceremony creation, and emotional support - up to including presence during euthanasia if desired.
This is a standalone service and not available as part of a package. Rates begin at $65 per hour.
Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it.
Haruki Murakami
