SU BARBER

Susannah was formed in the freedom and restriction of being surrounded by Elders in an Old Rest Home in Malvern, run by her ancestors and living with her parents. She lived within the presence of death and the dying, without really knowing it, for the first seven years of her life. It was later when She returned to the house to witness the dying of her relatives one after the other, that the grieving ebb and flow really hit her. 

During this period of grief there was also great love and she became a Mother late in life, which turned her life around from arts project management to training as a Birthing From Within Mentor and a Birth Story Listener. This time also introduced her to the learning path of Labyrinths that she has been meandering happily in ever since.

Su was invited to join Sacred Circle CIC as one the mentors for the EOL doulas right at the beginning, soon after becoming a director of the CIC and a pretty constant member of the community calls on Friday. 

“Being a part of this focussed community with Death as the teacher, has meant I have learnt so much more. Birth was an amazing teacher and there are many similarities and many differences, such as the awareness of coming transformations, the crossing of thresholds, the ancestral patterns, the myriad of emotions, the ability to listen and not try to fix, but this work has taken it in more personally and much deeper. My own personal preparation and becoming more comfortable with Death has helped me to be more in Life.”

LIEVNATH FABER 

Based in Amsterdam, Lievnath is a senior Landecker Democracy fellow who works on the intersections of ceremony & ritual to mark lifecycles, activism and communal work. She is co-founder of Oy Vey Acts, a Jewish social justice organization in the Netherlands and writes about the challenges and opportunities of being a Jewish activist in progressive spaces. She also is co-founder of Alchemy of New Life, a local Dutch holistic life cycles organization providing education, support and community to those transitioning in pregnancy, birth, death and that which lies in between.  Lievnath actively weaves together topics of ceremony & ritual, activism and the (Jewish) lifecycles together to kindle and foster a wholesome and thriving community. Lievnaths blog: www.thebedtimeactivist.com

PATRICIA LÜBECK

Patricia was introduced to community-centered death care from a young age through her maternal lineage. Growing up rooted in a deep cultural heritage, she has been a bridge between the worlds ever since she can remember. 

When Patricia was first brought to her knees by grief and loss, cultivating a deeper commitment to the healing arts was the only way she knew how to survive. Since then, she sat with people of many indigenous tribes around the world and actively nourishes grassroots activism in her communities. Despite being young in years, Patricia has been acknowledged as a potent facilitator and ceremonialist internationally.

You will meet Patricia as a Companion on your Journey with Death and at the PILGRIM portion of the EOL doula training. 

DANIELA OTHIENO

Based in Hastings UK, Daniela came to this work through being born into a grieving family eighteen months after her eight year old brother had died.

Her eclectic life experiences of work, study, activism, and travel are woven together by endless curiosity and love for life in all its beautiful and difficult expressions. Daniela can listen, witness, and be with people fully, helping to create a solid ground for exploration.

Having seen how much death and grief have to teach about life, she believes in growing a culture of mutual support and space for everyone to find their own path through these realities.

GAURI RAJE

Gauri Raje is a storyteller and anthropologist based in Scotland and India. She works with different genres: folk tales, fairy tales, epics and myths, mainly from non-European regions, and autobiographical storytelling. She is fascinated by myths and their power to hold community memories, and has been increasingly working with the ways in which stories allow migrants to create a relationship with the land they settle in. She is also interested in the way the South Asian diaspora in the Scotland has been adapted mourning practices in a new land. 

MARCELA SCARPELLINI 

Based in Germany and Ireland Marcela says “I rather listen than speak, I like accompanying people going through difficult times and I am better acquainted with silence and meaningful conversations than with small talk. Of course, I love to joke and listen to people’s imprudent and gentle occurrences. Through the last ten years I have gained experience working with people through sharing yoga and have accompanied them in the process of getting to explore and know themselves. At times it has felt like accompanying the dying. As we have shed layers, seen different parts of ourselves emerge from working with our bodies we have shared fear, curiosity, fun and the joy that comes with discovering aspects of ourselves that were unknown.

As a death doula I approach the work in a similar way, supporting the people who I work with in exploring their inner resources, pointing them out and/or reminding them that there might be some places in which they might have not looked. My way of working might change as I work with different people and become aware of different needs, characters and as I get more acquainted with death as a teacher.”