b"A Really Beautiful GoodbyeFull Circle Living and Dying teaches people a new-old way to care for loved ones before, during and after deathBy Trina Kleistome people areThe next day, we shrouded her with midwives andceremony before she went into mortuary doulas, assistingcare, Murphy recalled. I felt fortunate that in the process ofI was able to give my mom that gift, and give bringing in life. Akhila Murphy helps peopleto myself and my family, the chance to say a honor a life going out.really beautiful goodbye.It's been a part of human existence toSITTING WITH THE DEADtake care of your own dead, says Murphy,Its legal to die at home in every state a certified end-of-life doula. She foundedin the nation. Its also legal to bring home and runs Full Circle Living and Dying, aa loved one from a medical facility after Grass Valley nonprofit that supports anddeath and prepare the body for burial or guides people interested in home-basedcremation, Murphy says. It also can be a care for those who are near death, as wellcomfort to those who remain.as after-death care, home-based funeralSome traditions call for three days for rituals and natural burial. And that requiresthe body to lie before being taken away talking about death itself, a conversationto a mortuary or for burial, Murphy says. Murphy encourages. During that time, the bereaved can pray, With this pandemic, so many peopleconduct ceremonies, invite visitors and visit were dying, and they never had thewith the dead.Above: Akhila Murphy is a certified end-of- opportunities to plan or say goodbye, life doula and founder of Full Circle LivingMurphy says, referring to the earlyFamilies who do this are so grateful to and Dying, in Grass Valley. physical-isolation restrictions amidhave that extra time, to get up in the middle Right: Loved ones wrapped the body of DawnCOVID-19. Once you start havingof the night, to sit with the deceased, to (friends asked that her last name not behold their hand, to say things, to talk, to used) in cloth and flowers at home duringconversations about deathyou start livingprocess things right there, Murphy says. a shrouding ceremony, then placed her in adifferently. You start appreciating your life cardboard coffin before the body was sent to aWhatever their belief system is can only be mortuary for cremation. and what's important. enhanced by being there and having more In April 2022, Murphy said goodbyetime to process.to her own mother. Even though MomAdditional home-based activities take on could not respond, she was aware. Hera ceremonial feel that comforts and consoles. grandchildren and great-grandchildrenThe law does not require that a body be came, held her hand, talked and read to her.taken to a mortuary or embalmed, a process She died at home on a Sunday morning. that uses chemicals to delay decomposition. Doulas from Full Circle came toInstead, Murphy and Full Circle volunteers Murphys home to help family members,teach people how to perform time-honored men and women, wash their matriarchsrituals such as washing, dressing and body, and left her to lie in state in her bed.shrouding the body, covering the deceaseds We adorned her with flowers and greenery.face and carrying the body out. 16SENIOR DIRECTORYWestern Nevada County Edition 2022-2023"