Team Simon here! While A Bit of Optimism is on a short break, we’re revisiting a few episodes you helped make some of our favorites. We’ll be back with brand-new conversations next week, on March 24th, 2026. In the meantime, we’re bringing back an episode that explores a word most people like to avoid: death.
We dance around the subject or use vague euphemisms to not hurt anybody. But what if being open about our deaths meant we could live happier lives?
That’s where Alua Arthur comes in. Alua is one of the most prominent death doulas in the country, which means it’s her job to help people die. She offers support to her clients and their families as they embark on their dying journey, tackling everything from financial planning and insurance policy to emotional support and grief.
Before this work, Alua was a lawyer, but after a life-changing encounter that forced her to confront mortality in a new way, she shifted her path entirely. Now she has dedicated her career to helping others prepare for the end of life with clarity, compassion, and even a bit of humor.
In this conversation, Simon and Alua talk about why our culture struggles to talk honestly about death, what she’s learned from the people she’s accompanied in their final days, and why remembering that life is finite can help us live with more presence, gratitude, and intention.
This… is A Bit of Optimism.
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For more on Alua and her work, check out: https://goingwithgrace.com/ & @GoingwithGrace
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