Sacred space for grief
Miseria is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and sacred space for individuals and families wanting support on their grieving and end-of-life journey. Our service is guided by the deep desire to ease suffering, provide comfort and advocacy, coaching, and gently shift the conversations around grief, death, and dying.
Meet Alison
Alison Nail-Malone is the founder of Miseria and Malone Consultants Group. She is an international award-winning Coach, certified Grief Educator, and accredited Death Doula. A bereaved daughter and caretaker, Alison understands the deep pain of grief, while still finding a way to lead her teams and run a successful business.
An End of Life Doula is a non-medical person trained to care for someone holistically (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) at the end of life. End of Life Doulas are also known around the world as end-of-life coaches, soul midwives, transition guides, death coaches, death doulas, doula to the dying, end-of-life doulas, death midwives, thanadoula, and end of life guides.
Alison’s work focuses on creating a safe space for the one dying and the family to engage in the emotional and spiritual labor needed to prepare for death.
Her End-of-Life process is designed to facilitate a “good death,” according to the wishes of the dying person to ensure their wishes are honored during the Vigil time when the person is actively dying. Beyond the death, Alison can also facilitate some early grief work with families by having them reflect, talk about their experience of the dying process, and guide them to additional grieving resources.
David Kessler, Visions, Trips, and Crowded Rooms
“While death may look like a loss to the living, the last hours of a dying person may very well be filled with fullness rather than emptiness.”
Megan Devine, It's OK That You're Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn't Understand
“True comfort in grief is in acknowledging the pain, not in trying to make it go away. Companionship, not correction, is the way forward.”
What is a Death Doula?
A death doula is a non-medical support person who serves a dying individual, their loved ones, and/or their caregivers. Prior to medicalization and the emergence of professionalized death care, most people died at home where members of their community or family would tend to them and serve as a peaceful presence. Many people today state they want to be at home, but instead die in hospital beds, their caregivers unequipped to meet their needs or feeling incapable, intimidated, or overwhelmed. Death doulas can be part of the team that makes dignified home deaths possible. (Though we work anywhere we are welcome!)
We answer questions, ease anxieties, serve as guides, and advocate for autonomy and dignity. And death doulas aren’t only for the imminently dying. We assist people in all stages of life with advance care planning, resolving death anxiety, supporting grief, education and social justice activism, and other related issues.
Some things we do:
In-home, hospital, hospice, or nursing home visits
Continuous bedside presence during the final stages of the dying process
Assistance with completing advance directives for death care
Assistance with fulfilling final wishes, healing relationships, and/or putting things in order
Companion care and caregiver relief/support
After-death rituals, development of vigil plans, and body preparation (if desired)
Support with stillborn and infant death and bringing baby home for a home funeral
Suggestion of interventions for comfort of all present
Guided meditations to help alleviate anxiety and suffering
Guidance with after death care of the body and funeral planning
Obituary and eulogy writing support
After death follow-up and grief support
Referral to other community resources as appropriate