Walking Each Other Home with Spiritual Midwife Jade Young

Our guest Jade Young describes herself as a spiritual midwife. Jade spent the first 20 years of her professional life building a consulting business, but when her mother was diagnosed with cancer, Jade returned to Hawaii to be with her family.

Following her mother’s death, Jade spent years grieving, healing, and slowing down. She said goodbye to the Bay Area and goodbye to consulting. In the 20 years since, Jade has been deepening her spiritual practice and offering herself as an instrument of peace and healing in the dying process and beyond. 

Jade reminds us that healing is not a rush job. As she puts it, “You cannot force the river.” In order to become an instrument of healing, Jade first had to let herself heal, and in order to let herself heal, she had to move from the fast lane to the Big Island and ask the ocean to hold her grief. This conversation winds and circles back on itself many times, just like the process of grieving. 

Jade’s Reading List & Resources:  

AARP – Checklist for My Family: A Guide to My History, Financial Plans and Final Wishes; by Sally Balch Hurme, an Elder Law Attorney quoted frequently in NY Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CNN, NPR, Kiplinger’s Retirement Report. BJ MILLER, M.D. Ted Talks – What Really Matters at the End of Life https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&ei=UTF-8&p=ted+talks+youtube+bj+miller&type=E211US105G0#id=1&vid=68dfedc905fc29bab4f13e4ce08afdc0&action=click Ira Byock, nationally renown palliative care specialist, M.D. – The Four Things That Matter Most: A Book about Living https://irabyock.org/books/the-four-things-that-matter-most/ Atul Gawande, M.D. – Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End http://atulgawande.com/book/being-mortal/ Paul Kalanithi, M.D. – When Breath Becomes Air    

https://www.amazon.com/When-Breath-Becomes-Paul-Kalanithi/dp/081298840X

Katy Butler, award winning journalist - Knocking on Heaven’s Door, The Art of Dying Well Joan Halifax, Founder and Director of Upaya Zen Center: Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion & Wisdom in the Presence of Death. https://www.upaya.org/being-with-dying/

https://www.upaya.org/dox/Being_Dying.pdf

Frank Ostaseski, visionary co- founder of SF Zen Hospice, Metta Institute - Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully. This book is an evocative and relevant guide that points to a radical path for transforming the way we live. https://fiveinvitations.com/   the secret teacher hiding in plain sight, helping us Cathy Wurzer, founder of End in Mind: A movement that advocates to shift the fear-based cultural conversation about loss, death, dying, and provides curated resources to families and communities.  https://www.endinmindproject.org/resources/

If you enjoyed this conversation, please leave a review in your podcast app. CancerTalks is a platform for anyone who has been touched by cancer. If you’re moved to donate, please visit cancertalks.com/donate

Our guest Jade Young describes herself as a spiritual midwife. Jade spent the first 20 years of her professional life building a consulting business, but when her mother was diagnosed with cancer, Jade returned to Hawaii to be with her family.

Following her mother’s death, Jade spent years grieving, healing, and slowing down. She said goodbye to the Bay Area and goodbye to consulting. In the 20 years since, Jade has been deepening her spiritual practice and offering herself as an instrument of peace and healing in the dying process and beyond. 

Jade reminds us that healing is not a rush job. As she puts it, “You cannot force the river.” In order to become an instrument of healing, Jade first had to let herself heal, and in order to let herself heal, she had to move from the fast lane to the Big Island and ask the ocean to hold her grief. This conversation winds and circles back on itself many times, just like the process of grieving. 

Jade’s Reading List & Resources:  

AARP – Checklist for My Family: A Guide to My History, Financial Plans and Final Wishes; by Sally Balch Hurme, an Elder Law Attorney quoted frequently in NY Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CNN, NPR, Kiplinger’s Retirement Report. BJ MILLER, M.D. Ted Talks – What Really Matters at the End of Life https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&ei=UTF-8&p=ted+talks+youtube+bj+miller&type=E211US105G0#id=1&vid=68dfedc905fc29bab4f13e4ce08afdc0&action=click Ira Byock, nationally renown palliative care specialist, M.D. – The Four Things That Matter Most: A Book about Living https://irabyock.org/books/the-four-things-that-matter-most/ Atul Gawande, M.D. – Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End http://atulgawande.com/book/being-mortal/ Paul Kalanithi, M.D. – When Breath Becomes Air    

https://www.amazon.com/When-Breath-Becomes-Paul-Kalanithi/dp/081298840X

Katy Butler, award winning journalist - Knocking on Heaven’s Door, The Art of Dying Well Joan Halifax, Founder and Director of Upaya Zen Center: Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion & Wisdom in the Presence of Death. https://www.upaya.org/being-with-dying/

https://www.upaya.org/dox/Being_Dying.pdf

Frank Ostaseski, visionary co- founder of SF Zen Hospice, Metta Institute - Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully. This book is an evocative and relevant guide that points to a radical path for transforming the way we live. https://fiveinvitations.com/   the secret teacher hiding in plain sight, helping us Cathy Wurzer, founder of End in Mind: A movement that advocates to shift the fear-based cultural conversation about loss, death, dying, and provides curated resources to families and communities.  https://www.endinmindproject.org/resources/

If you enjoyed this conversation, please leave a review in your podcast app. CancerTalks is a platform for anyone who has been touched by cancer. If you’re moved to donate, please visit cancertalks.com/donate