Sarah Hill
My mom died when I was four. It was this early and intimate encounter with death that shaped in me a somewhat unusual willingness to and familiarity with leaning into the conversation and experience of dying and death. This has equipped me to stay present with people at a time when many others pull away. My attuned intuition and flexible style help me bridge my clients and their families to a different experience of dying. I respond seamlessly to the unique and sometimes changing needs that may surface in an intentional, creative, and aligned way. I come with no agenda; I show up with a simple promise to be of service at a tender time.
I support both those who are dying and the constellation of care that surrounds them. I tend to meet most of my clients at the point of a terminal diagnosis, and remain with them until after their death has occurred, at which point I tend to remain in the picture to support my clients’ family and friends as they navigate their grief. I also work solely with caregivers, too, providing support to them as they walk an often isolating path of caring for a loved one who is dying.
Together my clients and I co-create a safe and deeply human place from which to explore, process, grieve, open, connect, and unfold through one's dying time. I believe in creating everyday-sacred-places that can heal, generate, and open to love, even in the midst of profound loss. I help my clients connect deeply with their experience, while guiding and supporting their loved ones to remain present and open to what emerges.
My clients describe me as approaching my work from an emotionally engaged and intuitively aware place, with equal capacity to provide support with the pragmatic essentials needed at the end of life. I’m enthused to support “getting things in order” (such as Advance Planning efforts: Advance Directives, pre-needs with funeral homes, etc.), and will be as fulfilled to facilitate the creative process to support a legacy or memorial project, no matter how small or large. I derive great satisfaction from all facets of my work, but no doubt my favorite aspect is the connections and bonds that tend to emerge organically during this full-of-potential time of our lives. Creating and allowing space to just be with what is is essential to this work.
Arguably, my path to becoming a doula began in early childhood. I resisted its pull until my forties. At the height of a consulting career supporting large-scale change management efforts in the corporate sector, the call to pivot to what is arguably the greatest change we each will undergo had become too loud for me to ignore.
I live with my family in Alameda -- a pinch-myself-lucky Bay Area resident for nearly the last two decades. I am a staunch ally to BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities, and consider myself a lifelong learner who is committed to continuous growth and evolution. As a doula, I’m literally humbled each day by those I encounter, and often marvel at the expansiveness of the human heart. Taking the path less traveled has helped me round out my own edges, too: exchanging achievement for fulfillment is among the best decisions of my life.