Today we’d like to introduce you to Holly Lux-Sullivan.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I came to end-of-life care from my volunteer work in the HIV/AIDS community in the late ’90s and early 2000s: I saw how isolated people with AIDS often were, and I didn’t want anyone to die alone, deserted by community, if I could walk beside them.
By the time I graduated from seminary and became a health care chaplain, the miracle of antiretroviral drugs meant people with HIV/AIDS could live long, healthy lives, so my focus widened to care for anyone isolated by illness. That meant serving as a hospice chaplain and grief counselor for 11 years, working alongside amazing nurses, CNAs, and social workers to provide care for patients and families.
Heartwood was born when I left that longtime position to work independently as a death doula in mid-2024. A death doula assists a sick person and their loved ones, helping them understand the process and deal with it emotionally and spiritually as well as physically, just as I did in hospice. Now I can support people throughout an illness, not just at the very end. Because I care for a small number of clients, I’m available when they need me, for as long as they need me.
Dying is a natural part of life, and one we all have to go through, but we don’t need to go it alone or fearfully. If you want someone by your side who understands dying and grief, I can be there nearly every step of the way.
Yogi and teacher Ram Dass said, “We are all just walking each other home.” I love his language because of its universality: Whatever our beliefs or philosophies, we all know the feeling of <i>home</i>.
That’s the promise we make: Heartwood is here to walk you home.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Starting a small business is never easy, but my personal extroversion makes it less onerous: I can’t imagine building a business if I were an introvert: It takes a lot of connecting with others! Happily, I enjoy that.
The biggest challenge has been going from earning a steady paycheck my entire adult life to being self-employed and seeing income ebb and flow. It definitely took an enormous leap of faith and, frankly, more bravery than I usually give myself credit for. <i>And</i> I’m extremely lucky to be married to a wonderful husband who is an incredible cheerleader and my biggest supporter.
Community support for Heartwood has also been incredible: Numerous organizations have invited me to speak about my work, connecting with more people who might need our services and support, and provide community education.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Heartwood provides knowledgeable, compassionate spiritual and emotional support and counseling for individuals facing critical or terminal illnesses, as well as for their loved ones. With expertise, calm, and empathy, we walk alongside each client through life’s most sacred transition.
Our goal is to be there for clients and their circle of care as much as they want us to be. We offer education, end-of-life counseling, and grief support. I also provide elder counseling to help seniors adjust to the many transitions we face in older life and perform funerals and remembrance services.
My clients recommend me for my warmth, expertise, and ability to help them face the hardest thing they’ve ever done with calm assurance. I help clients celebrate their joys and deal with their concerns while ensuring they have all the answers they want.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is that my clients feel cared for, and known by, me. Heartwood is a sole proprietorship, not a corporate franchise. You know who you’ll be dealing with, every time: me. I will do my best to care for you and your people in the ways you need. That can mean in-person visits, phone calls, Zooms, and/or text check-ins.
In scheduling a first visit, a prospective client explained that her elderly parent isn’t fully awake and ready for conversation until mid-afternoon. She asked if I could visit after 3 or, ideally, later. I said I’m happy to work on her schedule and offered to visit at 4:30.
“How humane,” she said, sounding stunned.
This is why I left institutional health care to found Heartwood: Humanity is foremost in the care I provide. Always.
The work I do is a sacred duty, and one I feel profoundly grateful to be able to carry out.
Pricing:
- Free hourlong initial consultation
- $85 hourly counseling or death doula support
- $800 package of 10 hours ($50 savings)
- $1550 package of 20 hours ($150 savings)
Contact Info:
- Website: heartwooddeathdoula.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartwood_death_doula
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Heartwood-Death-Doula-and-Bereavement-Care/61561160897496/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deathdoulahollyluxsullivan/
- Other: https://heartwooddeathdoula.substack.com/
Image Credits
Mug shot by Kim Mills
