Pink peony illustration with green leaves.

Death Ed

with Erin

Erin-Merelli- Death-Ed-With-Erin

Here, Education is the Bridge from Fear to Preparedness

Welcome. You are here to learn more about death and dying. Maybe because it is imminent in your own life, or maybe because you want to train as a death doula. Welcome to this space. I am here to guide you with knowledge, compassion, and experience through what many consider the hardest part of life: its end.

This is a space for:

  • those who seek the mystery.

    Students and Seekers

    those who seek the mystery

  • planning for the end, together with their loved ones.

    Family and Friends

    planning for the end, together with their loved ones

  • Death Doulas - called to walk the threshold and here to learn.

    Death Doulas

    called to walk the threshold and here to learn

  • navigating the weight of loss, finding the others who understand.

    Grievers

    navigating the weight of loss, finding the others who understand

  • supporting their teams when loss touches the workplace.

    Company Leaders

    supporting their teams when loss touches the workplace

  • because none of this would matter if we didn’t love each other.

    Lovers

    because none of this would matter if we didn’t love each other

  • Nurses, Social Workers, Funeral Professionals - and others who have seen the clinical side and are seeking its heart.

    Nurses, Social Workers, Funeral Professionals

    and others who have seen the clinical side and are seeking its heart

  • Academics - People who want to know the truths when they aren’t convenient.

    Academics

    People who want to know the truths when they aren’t convenient.

Erin Merelli

“So long as we love, we cannot dispel grief, but we can manage its weight by educating the fear out of it.”

Woman in a purple dress standing between stone walls, with architectural structure in the background, and wearing a cross necklace.

Education for Every Level

We fear what we don’t understand, and through learning, we can dispel fear. After creating over 20 programs tailored to every level, I am reflexed at teaching individuals, communities and professionals how to approach death with confidence, knowledge, and compassion.

My current offerings include evergreen classes (pre-recorded, self paced), as well as live online classes, and, most excitingly, I am traveling to a new city every other month to offer my cornerstone Death Doula Training Workshop in person to small groups of mortality minded learners. The next stop will be Deerfield Beach, FL on February 1, 2025!

Each of my current courses offers a full description but if you want to short version, we explore themes of

Ancestry, cultural death practices + personal ancestry, lineage and its inheritance, the modern funeral industry (including a critical look behind the curtain) ,green burial options and the environmental impact of burial. How we can alchemize our bodies and return as a rose or an oak.Grief: personal, collective, and disenfranchised. Death laws, democratization, and autonomy at the end of life. Ceremony, rites of passage, and spiritual concepts of the afterlife. If you aren’t sure what's right for you, send me an email here.

Online learning

Evolving Death Care
Tailored Educational Experience
Remote

Two people smiling and conversing at a desk with a laptop in a modern office setting. A framed artwork of a pocket watch hangs in the background.

In Person Classes

Transformative Deathcare Training
Personalized Learning Paths
In Person

A group of people sitting in chairs inside a room with large windows, engaged in discussions. There are plants near the windows and a basket on the floor. Coffee cups and notepads are visible.

Public Speaking

Redefining Deathcare
Customized Curriculum
In Person

A woman in a floral dress speaking on stage with a purple background.
A speaker in a green dress giving a presentation to an audience, with a screen displaying a slide titled "The Functions of Ceremony."
A group of people sitting on a yellow couch taking notes, surrounded by plants and personal items such as bags and cups in a cozy indoor setting.
People sitting on colorful rugs outdoors, talking near wooden tables.
People lighting candles outdoors at night, one person wearing gloves.

Upcoming events.

Death Doula Services:

  • A vintage pocket watch surrounded by butterflies and flowers, with a dreamy, surreal design. The watch face features Roman numerals and ornate clock hands, while the scene includes pink flowers and colorful butterflies against a dark background.

    Planning for the end

    practical logistics, family preparedness and mining through grief and fear until we find some level of surrender.

  • A surreal painting featuring a human arm adorned with pearl bracelets and a gold ring, surrounded by various colorful flowers and leaves, set against a dark background.

    Visitations

    providing companionship to the dying and respite care to the caregivers.

  • 11th Hour Care

    11th Hour Care

     presence when death is imminent, tending to the space, supporting family lead care. 

  • Ceremony

    Ceremony

    planning meaningful rituals, ceremonies, memorials and funerals that support the grieving in personal ways.

  • Open book with colorful flowers emerging, surrounded by glowing particles, with the text "Einen schönen Dienstag!"

    Workplace support

    what happens when there is a loss in the workplace? Lets structure, support and organize gatherings to tend to the rip in the community cloth, honoring the one who died and the feelings that remain, supporting staff mental health, wellness and performance. 

Learn More

Newsletter

Death and grief are huge topics. We could talk about them for years, and we do! I promise to only send you the best stuff.