Farewell’s Kindling Path

A self-paced virtual training in death care for personal, family, and community support.
Learn the essential skills of a death doula—drawn from hundreds of bedside hours—through six recorded modules, curated resources, and embodied practices you can explore on your own time.

Inside the Kindling Path

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    6 in-depth, recorded modules (50+ hours of teaching and resources) covering the core skills and perspectives of modern and ancestral death care

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    Curated readings, videos, and guided reflections chosen to deepen your understanding and broaden your perspective

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    Journaling prompts, rituals, and integration practices to help you weave the learning into your daily life and presence at the bedside

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    Practical exercises and case studies to ground your knowledge in real-world scenarios

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    Lifetime access to revisit materials anytime your path calls you back

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    A flexible, self-paced structure so you can begin and complete the training on your own timeline

By the end of the Kindling Path, you will be prepared to:

  • Confidently companion someone through the dying process

  • Facilitate meaningful end-of-life planning conversations

  • Hold space for grief in all its forms — from quiet sorrow to traumatic loss

  • Integrate ritual, cultural awareness, and spiritual literacy into your care

  • Understand the physiology, mystery, and cultural context of dying

  • Be fully prepared to pass the NEDA Proficiency Assessment and join the NEDA movement

What You’ll Gain From Kindling Path:

The 6 Core Modules of the Farewell Curriculum

Module 1 - This Mortal Terrain: Discerning Your Call

In This Mortal Terrain, we explore the realities of dying in North America today, where death is well-supported, where it is not, and how a death doula (or Deathwalker) can bridge the gaps.

Through guided questions, self-study resources, and reflection, you’ll deepen your own relationship with death as a spiritual practice while building a clear-eyed understanding of modern end-of-life care

Module 2 - Sacred Ground: Honoring Your Grief

Grief is not a problem to solve but a sacred ground we walk. In Sacred Ground, you’ll explore grief as both a personal and communal experience, learning how to support yourself and others through its many forms: anticipatory grief, acute loss, and the slow burn of change.

We’ll study grief literacy, ritual, and embodied practices that allow us to meet sorrow with steadiness. Through questions, meditations and self-study resources, you’ll strengthen your capacity to hold grief without rushing it, fixating on it, or turning away.

Module 3 - Whispers Between Worlds: Energy Work for Death Doulas

Death is never only physical; it is cultural, spiritual, and, for many, mystical. In Whispers Between Worlds, we explore global and ancestral traditions surrounding death, and how these beliefs shape the end-of-life experience. You’ll learn how to honor diverse spiritual perspectives, create and hold ritual space, and companion the dying in ways that leave room for mystery.

This course invites you to listen deeply to the unseen dimensions of deathwork, and to integrate these understandings into your practice as a death doula.

Module 4 - Mapping the Farewell: Advance Care Planning

Every farewell is unique, but it begins with a map. In Mapping the Farewell, we explore how to guide individuals and families through end-of-life planning with clarity, compassion, and consent. You’ll learn to facilitate advance care conversations, document healthcare wishes, and design meaningful vigils. We’ll explore life review practices and legacy projects that help people integrate their stories and leave tangible gifts for loved ones.

Through case studies, exercises, and resources, you’ll see how these tools come to life in real-world settings, preparing you to walk alongside others as they chart their final journey.

Module 5 - Vessel & Veil: The Physical & Spiritual Dying Process

The body at the threshold is both fragile and sacred, carrying us through the final stages of life. In Veil & Vessel, we study the biological phenomena of dying: changes in breathing, the death rattle, skin mottling, terminal agitation.

Alongside this, we explore the spiritual experiences often reported near death, from visions of loved ones to the sense of crossing a threshold between worlds. You’ll learn how to respond with both clinical skill and reverence, tending to comfort, dignity, and the unseen. This course blends physiology, ritual, and the mystical, preparing you to companion the body as it becomes a vessel for both life and farewell.

Module 6 - This Grief Has Teeth: Supporting Complicated Loss

This module meets grief where it is fiercest. We work with sudden and traumatic death (catastrophe, violence, suicide, accident) and the distinct layers of pregnancy and pediatric loss. We also explore choices at life’s end, including VSEDand MAiD, and how to support families through the complex emotions these paths can evoke.

You’ll practice trauma-informed, dignity-centered care; learn clear communication and crisis coordination; and examine the death doula’s ethical responsibilities to equitable care, with attention to marginalized communities disproportionately impacted by premature death, medical bias, and systemic harm.

Who This Path Is For

The Kindling Path is for anyone called to meet death with skill, compassion, and presence. You may be:

  • An aspiring death doula beginning your journey

  • A hospice volunteer seeking deeper training

  • A funeral professional expanding your offerings

  • A grief counselor, therapist, or clergy member

  • A family caregiver supporting a loved one at end-of-life

  • A community deathcare advocate weaving death literacy into your work

  • Anyone who is curious about cultivating a deeper relationship with Death for themselves

Why Farewell Education?

Farewell Education blends practical skill-building with deep, reflective learning. These courses honor the mystery of death while equipping you with tools to meet modern end-of-life needs. You’ll learn through questions, case studies, and resources drawn from real bedside experience, in a format that is personal, flexible, and rooted in community care.

✺ Frequently asked questions ✺

  • The Kindling Path is a self-paced online training covering the first six modules of the Farewell Education curriculum. It’s designed for flexibility, allowing you to study on your own schedule.

    Other offerings (such as the Foundations Path, Thresholds Path, or the full Deathwalker Apprenticeship) may include live cohorts, additional modules, mentorship, and hands-on practice.

  • No. The Kindling Path grants you a certificate of completion and fully prepares you to pass the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance (NEDA) Proficiency Assessment, as well as making you eligible to join the NEDA movement. However, because there is no supervised practice or mentorship component, this path is not eligible for full certification through Farewell Education.

  • The Kindling Path is designed to be completed in 3–6 months, with one module per month to allow time for the dense, reflective material. However, because it’s self-paced, you can move faster or slower depending on your schedule and learning style. This path has no requirements on how long you have to complete it, it is entirely self-paced.

  • This training is an excellent fit for those beginning their death doula journey or for anyone who wants to bring end-of-life literacy into their existing work. Past students have included hospice volunteers, funeral professionals, grief counselors, therapists, nurses, clergy, family caregivers, and community deathcare advocates.

  • Even though the Kindling Path is self-paced, you’re not alone. You’ll have access to monthly live Q&A calls, a private student community, and curated resources to help you integrate what you learn into your own life and practice.

  • Not at all. The Kindling Path is open to anyone with a genuine interest in end-of-life care, whether you’re brand new to deathwork or already working in a related field. The curriculum meets you where you are, offering a welcoming entry point for beginners and deep, thought-provoking material for experienced hospice workers, grief counselors, healthcare professionals, and community advocates. If you feel called to this work, you belong here.

    Jade does recommend having an active opportunity to practice what you learn here, but that is entirely up to you (family, hospice, hospital volunteer, etc.).

  • Jade’s intentionality in the information/resources presented were vital to helping guide my EOLD path. Death education is so needed right now and Jade’s offering is invaluable!

    Rebecca Mullins

  • I was nervous about starting something self-paced, but the Kindling Path met me exactly where I was. The questions, the resources, the case studies — they all worked together to help me see deathwork as both a calling and a skillset. By the time I finished, I felt steady and prepared.

    Julie Warren

  • Jade is warm, upbeat, sincere and helpful. She is so well-informed about the dying process and ways to support the caregivers of the dying that I would feel comfortable having her work with my own parents.

    Jennifer Mallins

  • I loved being able to learn at my own pace while still feeling connected through the community calls. Each module was so rich that I often went back to revisit them. This isn’t just a course, it’s a companion for anyone serious about learning this work.

    A. Evans