Talking about sex, touch, and intimacy after loss Grief and sex. Two things we’re trained to talk about in whispers, if we’re allowed to talk about them at all. But here’s the inconvenient truth: they’re tangled together. Not because grief is “romantic,” and not because sex is some kind of cure. They’re linked because both live in the body. Both are shaped by the nervous system.

Amnesty International, interviewing migrant detainees, identifies use of the confinement box. There can be no denying it is a torture prison

“Sex Cafe? What on earth is that?!” Honestly, that is a fair question. Before I tell you what Sex Cafe is, I need to tell you why it exists at all. From a time even before our great-great-great grandparents, our culture has used sex as a tool to shame and control people. Sex has been the excuse to label someone “pure” or “dirty,” “respectable” or “used up,” “wife material” or “a problem.” That did not start with us.

This season, you are not failing the holidays because you can’t manufacture cheer on command. In this piece, we explore why grief can feel so sharp in November and December, how to set boundaries with people who “just want you to be happy,” and simple rituals and resources to help you build a holiday that honors your loss instead of erasing it.

Our culture runs on a patriarchal hangover: gender rules, romance hierarchies, and conquest dressed as virtue. In Rosemary Raven Hearth rooms we unmake that script with consent, ritual, and practical care, both at the deathbed and in the bedroom. Low-pressure circles, chosen family honored, dignity first.

Grief after suicide is heavy and complicated. Tonight’s Death Circle with Pollinate Hive House is a low-pressure space: come to listen, sit quietly, or share if you wish. No requirements. Just a safe, loving room, steady facilitation, and community care. Details and RSVP inside.

I’m Erika Hall. I do my work where culture looks away. I am a Taboo Doula My passions live where culture looks away...death and sex. I created the Taboo Doula path to bring them back into honest light. End-of-life support and embodiment belong together here, alongside open and honest talk about consent, kink, aftercare, safety, and self-passion. This work lives both in the sacred and the practical.

I’m joining Pollinate Hive House, an inclusive neighborhood home for care. First up: a Death Circle with Charlotte’s Door for suicide-loss survivors on Nov 7 at 6 pm CT.

One of the hardest truths of end of life, illness, or psychological struggle is the circle of “burden.” A diagnosis, cancer, dementia, or something rare and hard to explain, often comes with a shadow that has nothing to do with the illness itself. That shadow whispers: I am a burden. Even without a dramatic diagnosis, age brings its own ache. When the body cannot do what once came easily, hesitation grows.

I don’t know about you, but lately I feel like the whole world is vibrating—just beneath the surface. Buzzing with uncertainty, grief, outrage, and exhaustion. Everything feels too loud and too fragile. Too much, and not enough, all at once. There are days I wake up feeling like I’ve lost the thread. Like I’m carrying stories and emotions that don’t quite belong to me, but I can’t seem to put them down either.

✨ Healing Passages – Death Café🗓️ Tuesday, May 6th, 2025 | 6–7 PM📍 Inner Space | 1251 Keosauqua Way, Des Moines, IA Death Isn’t the End of the Conversation—It’s the Start Dare to Talk About Death? You’re Invited. No Taboo. No Agenda. Just Honest Conversation About Death. No taboo. No agenda. Just honest conversation about death, dying, and what it means to live fully.

By Erika Hall, Death DoulaA reflection on acceptance, presence, and the freedom to feel 🌙 Introduction We talk a lot about grief and dying—but we don’t always talk about the rules we silently place on them. There are expectations. Unspoken checklists. Timelines and tones that we believe should be followed. We measure whether someone is "too ready" to die or "not sad enough" to grieve properly.

🌟 What do you hope they say about you when you're gone? Not the grand speeches or the list of accomplishments.The real stuff.The way you made them feel. The lessons you left behind. The love that lingers. Most of us think of legacy as something distant—what happens after. But the truth is, we’re shaping it now. In every conversation.

When someone you love dies, the world doesn’t stop turning—but maybe it should, even just for a breath. Grief changes everything. It alters routines, reshapes identities, and pulls time into strange, slow ripples. Rituals give that grief form. Whether you're mourning a parent, a partner, a friend, or a beloved pet, rituals offer a thread to hold in the storm.

Tomorrow evening, we gather in the spirit of compassion, curiosity, and courage. 🕯 Healing Passages Death Café📍 Inner Space Des Moines🗓 Tuesday, April 1st | 6:00–7:00 PM💻 View on Inner Space’s Calendar☕ Free | No RSVP Required This is a space to talk openly about death—what we fear, what we wonder, what we hope. There’s no agenda, just heart-led conversation and human connection.

Death is one of the most universal human experiences, and yet, it's the one we are often the least prepared to face—emotionally, spiritually, and sometimes even logistically. In a culture that prizes youth, productivity, and control, death can feel like the ultimate disruption: uncertain, uncontrollable, and final. But as a Death Doula, I’ve seen firsthand how reframing our relationship with death…

IntroductionMy name is Erika Hall, and I’m a Death Doula. I work with individuals and families during one of life’s most vulnerable and sacred times: the transition from life to death. My role is to hold space, offer comfort, and ensure that voices—especially the quiet ones—are heard. At Rosemary Raven Hearth, I support people not only in how they die, but in how they are seen, understood, and honored during their final chapter.

From Rachel Bloom: Death, Let Me Do My Special to A Man on the Inside, movies and TV found new ways to address death and dying.

Leaked internal documents show that the insurance giant is culling providers of applied behavior analysis from its network and scrutinizing the medical necessity of therapy. Advocates say the company’...