The 2024 Before I Die New Mexico Festival took place November 1 through 4 in different locations around Albuquerque. The third day’s topics focused on the theme of Planning for the Inevitable: end-of-life preparation, working with death doulas, downsizing, and living funerals. The day’s presentations took place at the offices of Death Doula Professionals and Conscious Crossroads End-of-Life Services. Here are the videos of speakers and activities from that day.

Getting Ready to Go with Dr. Kimberly Harms

Dr. Kimberly Harms speaks on Let’s Get Ready! Everything You Need to Know Before You Go. She talked about topics which included:

1. The best predictors of happiness and long life.
2. How to build a positive legacy of love.
3. What you need to do to get your affairs in order.
4. Ways to start an end-of-life conversation with family members.
5. What needs to be included in a legacy/end-of-life binder.
6. The importance of creating a will or trust.
7. Writing a letter of intent, your funeral plans, and your own obituary.

Planning for Peace with Death Doulas

Death doulas Danielle Slupesky with Conscious Crossroads End-of-Life Services and Brooke Nutting with Death Doula Professionals speak about how death doulas help people achieve a peaceful death. They talked about topics which included:

1. How death doulas work with hospices.
2. The wide range of services and activities that death doulas do.
3. How to personalize ceremony and ritual around dying.
4. Home funeral options.
5. Understanding advance medical directives.
6. How Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) impacts both patients and their families.
7. Ways that death doulas get training and hands-on experience.

Before I Die Downsizing Panel Discussion: Shed Before You’re Dead!

This panel discussion about downsizing provides insights about the challenges of letting go of stuff. The panelists are: Miriam Ortiz Y Pino, More Than Organized;  Kathy Dempsey, Keep Shedding, Inc.; Kimberly Harms, How to Build a Legacy to Die For; and Gail Rubin, A Good Goodbye. They talked about topics which included:

1. Our stuff as an extension of our selves.
2. Fear of letting go of something really valuable.
3. Taking digital photos of objects that can then be let go.
4. Aging in place considerations.
5. A prescription for change.

Kathy Dempsey on Would You Hold a Living Funeral for Yourself?

Kathy Dempsey, RN, MED, CSP and death doula, presents “Would You Hold a Living Funeral for Yourself?” She talked about topics which included:

1. The Ron Story – about her husband’s decline and celebration of his life.
2. 10 reasons you might want to have a living funeral.
3. 10 reasons you might NOT want to have a living funeral.
4. How to determine the right time to hold such an event.
5. The Bob Pike Story – how a living funeral was put together with hundreds of people participating in person and online.

Thank You to Before I Die Festival Sponsors

The 2024 Before I Die New Mexico Festival featured entertaining and educational elements that get people to discuss end-of-life issues and plan ahead. Most sessions were recorded and posted on YouTube. Each day of the Festival had a theme: November 1 – Eco-Friendly Funerals.  November 2 – Hospice 101 and MAID.  November 3 – Planning for the Inevitable. November 4 – Unexpected Deaths.

The Before I Die New Mexico Festival is made possible by the support of:

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