Meet Your Hosts

The Legacy Expo is a partnership between Damselfly Death Doula and The When You Die Project. Together they hope to break down the stigma that surrounds the topic of death and end of life by bringing events like the Expo to the public.

Heather has dedicated the over 25 years to compassionate care, starting as an educator and counselor for students and their families. Connecting with people on a profound, human level is where she has found her true calling. Being present for others during the sacred moments at the end of life and filling them with humility and gratitude.

“Every life tells a story and we should honour it’s final chapter with love and compassion.”

Heather is an End of Life Doula, a daughter, a sister, a wife and a mother. She holds fast to the belief that death and dying are natural aspects of life and when approached thoughtfully, can offer opportunities for meaning, healing, and profound connection.

After years of volunteer work in hospice and palliative care, Heather began pursuing her career as a Death Doula and began with training at Home Hospice Association.

The biggest question that is often asked to Heather is: “What is a Death Doula?”

End-of-life doulas offer companionship, comfort, and guidance to individuals facing terminal illness or approaching death. Our comprehensive non-medical support addresses emotional, spiritual, and practical needs, providing resources to help both the dying person and their loved ones make informed decisions in a nurturing environment. Doulas are available throughout various stages: during life-changing illnesses, following a terminal diagnosis, as death approaches, and even afterward to offer gentle grief support. Sometimes, it's the family members or close companions who seek solace and advice from end-of-life doulas. By normalizing end-of-life care, doulas foster open conversations that enhance communication and promote spiritual and emotional well-being. Planning for one's death empowers individuals to maintain autonomy over their choices and clearly articulate their wishes to their family and loved ones.

While end-of-life doulas may go by different names like death doula, death midwife, death coach, or end-of-life coach, our shared goal remains consistent: to provide compassionate care throughout the dying process.

Heather choose the image of the damselfly as it symbolizes wisdom, change, adaptability and transformation.

Just as death is not an end, merely a transformation.

Heather Kirk from Damselfly Death Doula

Where to find Damselfly Death Doula:

Chelsea is the Director of Operations for the When You Die Project, which exists to explore what might happen when we die, and to open thoughtful, honest conversations about death — a cultural dialogue too often avoided. The When You Die Team believes talking about death isn’t dangerous; but in fact, it can nurture healthier individuals and families who approach the end of life informed, inspired, and even with a sense of humor. By approaching the topic of dying with curiosity rather than fear, and compassion rather than silence, we help return death to its rightful place as a natural part of life. When we demystify the dying process, we create the conditions for a more conscious and meaningful end — and often, a more intentional way of living. The When You Die Project is an educational resource website, a podcast host, the home to an engaged online community via social media, but ultimately at the heart of the project is a documentary trilogy about what happens when we die.

The When You Die documentary trilogy, Directed by award winning film maker Johanna J. Lunn, explores the physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of dying. With insight, warmth, and moments of humor, the films bring together leading bedside clinicians, researchers studying the nature of consciousness, and deeply human stories of love and loss. Knowledge becomes an antidote to fear. The films are used by universities, hospices, death doulas, and organizations committed to compassionate end-of-life care and education. Though the way we live has evolved dramatically over the past century, the way we die has often become more medicalized and removed from daily life. We believe it’s time for a quiet revolution — one that begins simply by talking. Again and again, viewers tell us that even a single film reduces their anxieties about death and leaves them feeling calmer, more prepared, and more at peace.

By bringing death back into conversation, we make it more accessible, more human, and ultimately, less frightening.

Chelsea Hoagland from The When You Die Project

Click poster for trailer

Click poster for trailer

Click poster for trailer

Chapter 1:

In The Realm of Death & Dreaming: Does Consciousness Continue After Death?

Chapter 2:

Saying Goodbye: Preparing for Death

Chapter 3:

Architecture of Death: The Inner World of Dying

In the Realm of Death & Dreaming is the first film in the trilogy, and it brings viewers on a journey to discover if consciousness continues after death by exploring personal stories of near-death experiences, deathbed visions, scientific insights, and more. Interviews with leading clinicians and researchers who have spent their careers studying these experiences and the nature of consciousness are shared. Their stories are revealed with humor and compassion.

How can we talk about death? What is a good death? Does the body need help to die? What quality of life is enough for us? Where do we want to die? What is a conscious death? Could we have one? Through stories from professionals who have spent their careers at the bedside, Saying Goodbye opens the door to good conversations about what is possible as we pass from this life, and what that may look life for us and our loved ones.

What happens as we are dying? What could the final months, weeks, and days of life look like for the person who is dying? And the people who love them? Architecture of Death explores the physical aspect of dying, as well as the unseen felt experiences that can occur, such as: the changing roles within a family, the potential to heal old wounds, deathbed visions or dreams, messages to loved ones from the dying or recently passed, and a host of other phenomena.

Where to find The When You Die Project:

The When You Die Documentary Trilogy: