In this episode Natalie was invited onto the City Cast Boise podcast to discuss her recommendations for summer restaurants in the Treasure Valley. Hope you enjoy!

We’ve talked a lot about our move from tradition medicine to functional medicine. It has changed our lives and given us a lot of hope.

In this episode we sit down Amber Warren PA-C, IFMCP of Functional Medicine of Idaho and FMI Optimal and Host of the Functional Medicine Foundations podcast to discuss exactly what makes functional medicine different from traditional American health care. The frustration with our health care system is palpable across the Nation. What would it look like if doctors started to focus on root cause instead of just treating symptoms? If we tried to keep people well instead of waiting until they were chronically ill? If we didn't allow insurance and pharmaceutical companies to control the system. It’s a fascinating conversation. We get a bit riled up, but it might do us all a little good to rage a bit against the status quo.

Death is a topic our culture doesn’t seem to be very competent or confident talking about. Which is incongruent with the fact that, to paraphrase our guest, death is the most universal experience we have as humans. Some people may go most of their lives not confronting the reality of death until a loved one dies or they themselves receive a terminal diagnosis, and by that time we likely haven’t reconciled with the inevitability of death or developed any tools to deal with it. We want to change that and make the topic less culturally taboo, or at least less uncomfortable. Our hope is that by talking about it, we can get closer to making death the beautiful experience it can be.

In this episode we have an amazing conversation with Alex Glynn, local end-of-life doula, energy healer, and psychic. Alex is associated with two local companies or service providers: End-Of-Life Doulas of Idaho and Embracing Wild. As a death doula she, and other doulas, help individuals and their loved ones as the individual nears the end of life. She helps with practical end-of-life planning, emotional support, guidance and education on the death process, and managing grief. Her life’s passion is helping people at a time that’s often their most vulnerable.

Our conversation with Alex was one of our favorites. It was practical, emotional, philosophical, and comforting. We touched on so many topics such as helpful books about death and dying, cultural and colonial influences on society’s ability to talk about and process death, what the death process is like for both the individual and their caregivers, deep emotions including fear and grief, post mortem body care, traditions and rituals, and the importance of grief as a process. We walked away from this one feeling comfort and hope, and we hope you do as well.

If you’d like to learn more about death doulas, end-of-life planning, or other services that Alex specializes in, you can find her at End-of-Life Doulas Idaho and Embracing Wild.

Here are a few other resources we’ve found helpful:

• Sam Harris, The Making Sense Podcast, Episode #297: Preparing for the End
• A Beginner’s Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death, by BJ Miller and Shoshana Berger
• TED Talk: “What Really Matters At the End of Life”, by BJ Miller