Doula Karen Hendrickson Shares Her Powerful Story of Grief as a Teen

The Heart of Hospice Podcast

*Trigger warning - this episode contains a description of an intense death event. Please make space for your self care if you find the topic overwhelming.

Death doula Karen Hendrickson’s brother died suddenly when she was sixteen years old. That event became a lifelong lesson in death and dying, grief, and how to support teens during a loss.

As co-founder of Death Doula Network International, Karen Hendrickson specializes in end of life planning and education. As a death doula, she provides grief support and guidance for those who are dying and their caregivers. In her personal life, Karen experienced the death of her older brother Ernie when she was only sixteen years old. He was only 22 years old. That life event changed forever the culture of her family. As Karen describes it, it was “the beginning of us tucking our grief into the shadows”.

Karen learned for herself what it’s like to experience a traumatic loss as a teenager. Now she teaches about caring for teens as they grieve - making them feel seen, understanding they’re not responsible for taking care of the adults in the family.

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