Farewell’s Rooted Path
Step into the Farewell Rooted Path, where your deathwork takes deeper hold and wider reach. This is a sacred, application-only journey for certified death doulas ready to grow their practice in rich soil, nourished by three advanced curriculum units, an immersive capstone project, and close one-on-one mentorship. Along the way, you’ll walk beside an experienced guide, tend to your skills through extra shadow shifts, and bring a living offering of community death care into the world.
Along the Rooted Path
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3 advanced curriculum modules (20+ hours of teaching, practices, and resources) focused on hospice systems, after-death care, and bereavement support, refining your death doula skills into a confident, honed practice.
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Engage with curated readings, videos, and guided reflections selected to deepen your understanding and broaden your perspective, while developing a capstone project to offer the community as a death doula
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5 live, one-on-one mentorship sessions (75 minutes each via Zoom) designed to deepen your understanding, expand your skills, and weave your learning into real-world practice with confidence and clarity
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Continue experiencing in-person hospice shadow shifts, paired with embodied practices that deepen grounding, strengthen presence, and expand your capacity for meaningful ritual in death care.
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Monthly community offerings from virtual cohort circles to in-person workshops and gatherings, this path centers community
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Upon completion, receive your Certificate as a Certified Farewell Apprenticeship Graduate and join our circle of trusted referral sources, with ongoing access to mentorship opportunities.
Farewell’s Rooted Path is for those who have already stepped onto the deathworker’s road and are ready to root themselves more deeply in skill, presence, and service through guided apprenticeship.
What You’ll Gain From Rooted Path
By the end of the Farewell Rooted Path, you will be able to:
Confidently companion individuals and families through the dying process, building on advanced death doula training that includes in-depth coursework, five one-on-one mentorship sessions, and continued in-person hospice training and shadow shifts, paired with embodied practices for grounding, presence, and ritual.
Facilitate meaningful after-death care and bereavement support, holding space for grief in all its forms while applying advanced end-of-life care skills.
Integrate specialized knowledge of hospice systems, after-death care practices, and bereavement into a refined, professional death doula practice.
Engage with curated readings, videos, and guided reflections chosen to deepen your understanding, expand your perspective, and strengthen your professional competency.
Create a capstone project to offer the community as a death doula, developed in mentorship with me, with opportunities to collaborate and amplify your work through my professional network and mailing list.
Participate in ongoing community connections, including virtual death doula circles, cohort conversations, and in-person workshops that enhance your skills, confidence, and professional relationships.
Graduate with your Certified Farewell Apprenticeship credential, joining our trusted circle of referral sources, gaining continued access to mentorship, and strengthening your standing as a skilled, certified death doula.
The 3 Advanced Modules of the Farewell Rooted Apprenticeship Curriculum
Module 7- Circling the System: Death Doula’s Guide to Hospice
In Circling the System, we trace the winding pathways of end-of-life care, the places where support flows freely, the places where it falters, and the spaces in between where a death doula (or Deathwalker) can walk beside to bridge and guide.
Through guided questions, self-study resources, and reflection, you’ll map the terrain of our modern care systems while deepening your role as a steady presence, able to move between institutions, families, and communities with clarity and purpose.
Module 8 - Resting Rites: the Art of After-Death Care
Death is not the end of care, it is a threshold where the living tend to the dead with presence and reverence. In Resting Rites, you’ll explore after-death care as both a practical and sacred practice, learning to support families through the intimate work that follows a final breath.
We’ll study the funeral industry, its services and its shortcomings, alongside cultural rites such as home goings, family-led care, green burials, and ecological practices. Through guided questions, meditations, and self-study resources, you’ll deepen your capacity to prepare the body, create meaningful rituals, and honor the many ways communities say goodbye.
Module 9 - Where Grief Gathers: Supporting the Bereaved
Grief is never only emotional; it is communal, cultural, and, for many, spiritual. In Where Grief Gathers, we explore grief as a shared human experience that touches the dying, the bereaved, the caregivers, the professionals, and the community at large. You’ll learn how to witness grief as an act of service, hold space for its many expressions, and meet sorrow without trying to rush, fix, or turn away.
This course invites you to stand as a steady witness in the wake of loss, recognizing grief as a form of community care, and integrating these understandings into your practice as a death doula.
Who This Path Is For
The Farewell Rooted Path is an advanced, application-based apprenticeship offered to a select number of death doulas each year. Open only to those who have completed Death Doula training (through Farewell Education or another reputable program), Rooted invites you to deepen your practice through close mentorship, advanced skills, and real-world experience. Offered both in-person (Middle Tennessee) and virtually, this intimate circle is designed for those ready to ground their work more fully and serve with greater presence and impact.
You may be:
A Certified Death Doula through Farewell Education or another program, seeking advanced education, mentorship, and community connection
A Foundations or Thresholds graduate ready to take your training into a refined, professional practice
An end-of-life professional already proficient in core death doula skills, now seeking advanced training and mentorship
A community deathcare advocate prepared to design and deliver a capstone project for your community with support from Farewell’s network and mailing list
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 ✺
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The Rooted Path is Farewell Education’s most advanced offering, open only to those who have already completed Death Doula training through Farewell or another respected program. While Foundations and Thresholds build core skills and prepare you for certification, Rooted is designed to ground and expand your practice through advanced curriculum, continued one-on-one mentorship, enriched real-world hospice experience, and the creation of a capstone project to serve your community.
The result is a highly personalized, practice-centered apprenticeship, an immersive experience found only here.
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Upon completion, you’ll receive your Certificate as a Certified Farewell Apprenticeship Graduate and join Farewell’s circle of trusted referral sources, with continued access to mentorship opportunities. You’ll also complete a capstone project — a community offering you design and deliver as a death doula, developed in collaboration with me, with the support of my professional network and mailing list to help bring your work to life.
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The Rooted Path typically takes 3–5 months to complete, depending on your pace, mentorship scheduling, and the timeline for your capstone project.
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The Rooted Path is best for trained death doulas ready to deepen their skills through close mentorship, meaningful real-world experience, and the creation of a community-serving capstone project. Designed for graduates of Farewell Education or other reputable death doula programs, Rooted supports you in refining your practice, expanding your professional reach, and joining a trusted circle of referral sources.
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The Rooted Path is open only to those who have completed a Death Doula training program — either through Farewell Education or another reputable provider. Admission is application-based and limited to a small number of participants each year, ensuring close mentorship and deeply personalized guidance. We welcome applicants who are committed to grounding and expanding their practice, contributing to community death care, and bringing a capstone project to life during their time in the program. Both in-person (Middle Tennessee) and virtual participation are available.
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Yes. To join the Rooted Path, you must have already completed a Death Doula training course — either with Farewell Education or another reputable program — and hold an active role in which you can practice deathwork, whether as a volunteer or paid professional. This ensures you can immediately apply the advanced skills, mentorship, and real-world experiences offered throughout the program.