We're all going to die. Here's how to do it well | JeanneLauree Olsen | TEDxSaltLakeCity

Most of us grew up in a culture that fears death. As a result of that fear, most of us suppress, deny or rigorously avoid the topic of death; as if by doing that, we can avoid dying itself. Unfortunately, ignoring death won’t work. Death is a universal truth of living.

With quiet and earnest compassion, JeanneLauree Olsen shares three profoundly different experiences of people as they look squarely at death, whether their own or that of a loved one. Woven into these stories are instructions about how to die well. Not just in examining the way we face death itself, but also details on what is necessary to make death better for the dying and those who continue to live.

This presentation was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with only a limited live audience of cast and crew members. While applause has been added to the beginning and end of the video, all other aspects have intentionally remained as filmed to honor the struggle and loss experienced globally during 2020. JeanneLauree Olsen has spent more than 15 years as a hospice chaplain, working as part of an interdisciplinary team dedicated to helping terminally ill people and their loved ones respond to death with dignity and grace. As a non-denominational chaplain, she serves people regardless of their beliefs. Prior to becoming a hospice chaplain, JeanneLauree spent a decade working as a co-therapist in a private psychology practice.

JeanneLauree has proven success in using specific tools and techniques to disrupt today's general attitudes toward dying, which are fraught with fear and anguish, are impersonal and overly medicalized. She was able to use these principles to create a rich and joyous end of life experience for her own parents. The five years she spent caring for both of her parents confirmed the ease and effectiveness of JeanneLauree’s forward-thinking conviction that death can be infused with joy and beauty. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx