Today Sara is joined by Lupe Diaz, an end-of-life care specialist and death doula based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Lupe moved to the Midwest in 2022 to gain a new perspective on how different communities face death, grief, and healing. Lupe brings a deeply intentional approach to death care—shaped by her experiences in close-knit Indigenous communities, and a belief that living true to our values helps reduce suffering for ourselves and for others.

In our conversation, we talk about what it means to build community with people from different cultural backgrounds, how living in alignment with your values sometimes means going against the grain, and why Lupe believes that accepting death can help us live more intentionally. Lupe's insights on life, death, and community offer a powerful reminder that the way we live is deeply connected to the way we face the end and that authenticity is the key to building true community.

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About Lupe Diaz

Born in Mexico City, Lupe (She/Her) has a strong cultural connection to death and dying. Receiving her education from Going With Grace, studying under the renowned death doula, Alua Arthur, Lupe aspires to help not only with the dying process, but also with grieving and the deep psychological aftermath of loss and death.

In February of 2019, Doula Damn Thing was founded. An organization committed to serving the BBIPOC, LGBTQ+, lower income, and other marginalized communities with all of their end of life care needs.

About This Show

Bury Me in New Jersey is recorded in Hammonton, NJ, with the help of sound guy Nick Rumaczyk, head mensch and husband Bradley Nussbaum, and operations chief Katel LeDu. Our theme music is Grief on Repeat by New Harm. You’re getting an exclusive first listen to their material–their debut EP will be coming out soon!

Drop us a line at hello@burymeinnj.com if you’d like to share feedback or ideas for an upcoming episode!

A special shoutout to Anjanette R., Sergey K., Molly E., and Kim H, Erin and Bill H, Fluffy Farms, Lauren L., Fairacres Organic Produce, Katel, Holly, Stacy G., Sam J, Anjanette R, Kerrie, and Colleen C. We’re back on the air because of Kickstarter contributions like yours, and we’re deeply grateful for your support.

If you’d like to keep up to date with the other work we’re doing to support Bury Me, please consider subscribing to our Substack at burymeinnj.com. It’s absolutely free to read our content, though we do offer paid membership options which help us to continue producing more grief content.

Visit our website, burymeinnj.com, to learn about all the ways you can support the show. Thanks.

It’s hard to explain the Jersey/Philly connection to people who haven’t lived it. Jersey’s a small state, but it has distinct divisions, territories carved out into North, South, and Central (yes, I believe it exists). Beyond geography, there are important metro affiliations: Almost everyone from Jersey talks about “the city,” but which city they mean—New York or Philly—depends heavily on where they live. I grew up in a true sweet spot in the southern part of the state, right between Philly and Atlantic City. And while my love and admiration for the latter (my birth city) continues to deepen, Philly is where I spent my formative years trying to figure out who I was supposed to become.

The city's energy has shaped me deeply since the first time I explored its boundaries alone, wearing my Docs & sundress, armed with my Discman and a Jansport filled with too many CDs. I learned firsthand that “brotherly love” sometimes includes letting someone know when they’re being a son of a b***h while still having their back when it counts, an honest & unpolished "tough love" that's still deeply rooted in care.

That’s probably why I was so excited when I first came across @laborjawn, a podcast that dives into the world of Philly’s labor history. Through their work, I’ve been able to have more context for the “grit” that defines the city, learning about its legacy of activism, & how many movements and moments of collective action took root there. It felt like a revelation, and a reminder that our ability to tap into that collective power is not only possible, but absolutely necessary.

I appreciated having the chance to speak with Gabe Christy and Young Sam James, the duo behind the show, and to delve more into how the lessons from these historical movements apply to the world we’re living in today.

Whether you love Philly or Jersey, or have just been wanting to learn more about organizing, collective care, & grassroots efforts, there’s something in this episode for you. Many thanks to Gabe & Sam for their knowledge, time, and just the right amount of s**t-talking. I hope we get to do it again soon. Check out the episode at burymeinnj.com #solidarityforever

Today, Sara speaks with Norwegian artist, storyteller, and influencer Kim Diaz Holm. Known online under the handle Den Unge Herr Holm, Kim has built a passionate following by sharing videos of the creation process behind their striking ink monsters while discussing topics ranging from mythology and music to mental health and politics.

In this episode, Sara and Kim discuss Kim’s portrait project, where they offered free custom paintings to followers as a way to practice their craft and connect more personally with their community; the decision to make more than 4 GB of their artwork freely available for individuals to use without being limited by cost or copyright; and the collective grief currently being felt on a global scale.

You can hear the song Kim talks about, Til Ungdommen, via YouTube:

* A version sung at the memorial of the Utøya massacre in 2011: video link

* A rock version from danish artist Kim Larsen from 1979: video link

And explore an English translation of the song lyrics using a rhyming scheme.

About Kim

Kim Diaz Holm is an artist from Bergen, Norway, creating art for free use. With ink and in video they tell stories and draws dark art delving into topics of mythology, horror, mental health, politics, and humor. Support Kim’s art by following them (@denungeherrholm) on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok—and by subscribing to Patreon.

About This Show

Bury Me in New Jersey is recorded in Hammonton, NJ, with the help of sound guy Nick Rumaczyk, head mensch and husband Bradley Nussbaum, and operations chief Katel LeDu. Our theme music is Grief on Repeat by New Harm. You’re getting an exclusive first listen to their material–their debut EP will be coming out soon!

Drop us a line at hello@burymeinnj.com if you’d like to share feedback or ideas for an upcoming episode!

A special shoutout to Anjanette R., Sergey K., Molly E., and Kim H, Erin and Bill H, Fluffy Farms, Lauren L., Fairacres Organic Produce, Katel, Holly, Stacy G., Sam J, Anjanette R, Kerrie, and Colleen C. We’re back on the air because of Kickstarter contributions like yours, and we’re deeply grateful for your support.

If you’d like to keep up to date with the other work we’re doing to support Bury Me, please consider subscribing to our Substack at burymeinnj.com. It’s absolutely free to read our content, though we do offer paid membership options which help us to continue producing more grief content.

Visit our website, burymeinnj.com, to learn about all the ways you can support the show. Thanks.

Today, we’re sharing our conversation with Kara Perez—founder of Bravely Go, a financial education company—and author of the newly released book Money For Change: Reduce Waste, Build Wealth, and Build a Better Future for All. Kara’s work explores personal finance through the lenses of environmental sustainability and community, offering actionable steps to not only improve your financial health, but also create a more equitable, planet-friendly future.

In this episode, Kara opens up about her personal journey to becoming debt-free, the key lessons she learned along the way, and how those insights continue to shape her life and work. We also explore the emotional weight of financial insecurity—especially how it disproportionately affects vulnerable communities—and discuss tangible ways we can organize and advocate for meaningful change.

About Kara

Kara Perez is the founder of Bravely Go, a sustainability focused financial education company. Bravely focuses on bringing actionable, intersectional and accessible financial education to people who never learned the language of money. She is the author of the book, Money For Change. Kara has been featured in the New York Times, Good Morning America, Forbes, NPR, Glamour, ABC Nightline News, and US News and World Report as a financial expert. Additionally, for two years Kara cohosted the award winning podcast The Fairer Cents, which has been named the top money podcast for women by Forbes and The Balance.

You can find Kara on Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok—and you can (and should!) buy her book, Money for Change: How to Reduce Waste, Build Wealth, and Create a Better Future for All.

About This Show

Bury Me in New Jersey is recorded in Hammonton, NJ, with the help of sound guy Nick Rumaczyk, head mensch and husband Bradley Nussbaum, and operations chief Katel LeDu. Our theme music is Grief on Repeat by New Harm. You’re getting an exclusive first listen to their material–their debut EP will be coming out soon!

Drop us a line at hello@burymeinnj.com if you’d like to share feedback or ideas for an upcoming episode!

A special shoutout to Anjanette R., Sergey K., Molly E., and Kim H, Erin and Bill H, Fluffy Farms, Lauren L., Fairacres Organic Produce, Katel, Holly, Stacy G., Sam J, Anjanette R, Kerrie, and Colleen C. We’re back on the air because of Kickstarter contributions like yours, and we’re deeply grateful for your support.

If you’d like to keep up to date with the other work we’re doing to support Bury Me, please consider subscribing to our Substack at burymeinnj.com. It’s absolutely free to read our content, though we do offer paid membership options which help us to continue producing more grief content.

Visit our website, burymeinnj.com, to learn about all the ways you can support the show. Thanks.

After a very, very long hiatus, we're happy to welcome you back to a new episode of Bury Me in New Jersey! This podcast is still a space for exploring grief, but we’ve spent some time reflecting on how we want to show up in these conversations—and that’s led us to a new focus, summed up in our new tagline: Grief. Resistance. Joy. New Jersey.

This season, we’ll explore the ways that people are navigating grief in all its forms—whether it’s tied to injustice, economic hardship, and the ways the systems fail to support us. It’s also a chance to acknowledge that while some grief is inevitable, some of it isn’t—and that’s where the “resistance” part of our tagline comes in. We’ll explore how people are pushing back, challenging what’s broken, and finding ways to reclaim agency in the face of pain. We’ll also look at the historical roots of these struggles, and highlight the ways communities have come together across generations to grieve, resist, and rise.

While I’ll be returning to the host seat for our future episodes, our first conversation features Bradley Nussbaum as our guest host. As a hospice social worker and Bright Dawn Buddhist lay minister, Bradley is very familiar with navigating difficult conversations relating to grief, and finding ways to evolve these conversations into deeper reflections on life.

Bury Me in New Jersey is recorded in Hammonton, NJ, with the help of sound guy Nick Rumaczyk, head mensch and husband Bradley Nussbaum, and operations chef Katel LeDu. Our theme music is Grief on Repeat by New Harm. You’re getting an exclusive first listen to their material–their debut EP will be coming out soon!

If you'd like to provide us feedback directly or have ideas for an upcoming episode, please reach out at hello@burymeinnj.com

A special shoutout to Anjanette R., Sergey K., Molly E., and Kim H, Erin and Bill H, Fluffy Farms, Lauren L., Fairacres Organic Produce, Katel, Holly, Stacy G., Sam J, Anjanette R, Kerrie, and Colleen C. We’re back on the air because of Kickstarter contributions like yours, and we’re deeply grateful for your support.Visit our website,burymeinnj.com to learn about ways you can support the show. Thanks.

Reach out to us at hello@burymeinnj.com.

Music by New Harm.

This week, I’ll be sharing my interview with my long-time friend Kristen Fowler as we both speak candidly about our shared grief experience in a topic not often discussed: the grief that comes after divorce.

During our conversation, we discuss some of the complicated aspects of loss related to divorce that go beyond the dissolution of the marriage, including the other relationships that become collateral damage during the split; attempting to navigate blindly into a new normal, and reconciling with the fact that so many life decisions are based on a script we’re following without fully understanding the implications of that script.

Bury Me in New Jersey is recorded in Hammonton, NJ, and is produced by Nick Rumaczyk. Our theme music is P to the A, by Anonymous Novels. Check out their page on SoundCloud to hear more of their work.

If you like what you hear, you can subscribe to Bury Me in New Jersey on your favorite podcasting app. And while you're there, please consider leaving us a review to let us know how we're doing! If you'd like to provide us feedback directly or have ideas for an upcoming episode, please reach out at sara@burymeinnj.com.

Visit our website, burymeinnj.com to learn how you can support the show.