Emily Kent

Emily recently completed Doulagivers' End Of Life Doula Certification and Advanced Care Planning Certification. She is also a member of the International End Of Life Doula Association (INELDA). She got her start in end-of-life care singing at hospice bedsides with the Columbus Threshold Choir.

Emily has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Heidelberg College, and a Paralegal Certificate from Capital University Law School. She spends her free time playing video games and baking with her son, making music with her church choir, or taking her dog for walks.

My first experience bedside...

My Nana was in the hospital and she wasn't conscious. When we arrived she was visibly agitated and looked very uncomfortable. My mom and brother and I told stories about when we were little, we combed her hair because she always had to have it just so, and then we sang her the songs she used to sing to us. By the time we left, she looked calm and at peace. She passed not long after we left. I believe she was waiting for us to come and say goodbye.

That was the first time I sang at the bedside of a dying person. I was in my early 20s. I had no idea that two decades later I would be creating a career to bring the humanity and intimacy back into the dying process.