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What happens when the veil between worlds grows thin? Both birth and death represent profound thresholds where we're asked to surrender while somehow maintaining our power. After returning from maternity leave, host Elena Box welcomes her birth doula Alexandra Monahan for a raw, intimate conversation about resilience during life's most challenging transitions.

Alexandra shares her journey of walking her mother through end-of-life care after a long battle with cancer and addiction. This profound experience directly influenced her approach to supporting birthing families, especially in creating sacred space during transformative moments. The conversation reveals why Elena specifically sought a doula who understood death transitions to guide her through birth—recognizing the spiritual connection between these universal human experiences.

Then Elena opens up about her own dramatic birth experience—a placental abruption that forced her to abandon her carefully crafted home birth plans. With continuous bleeding, medical interventions, and moment-by-moment life-or-death decisions, Elena faced her greatest fear while still maintaining agency in her care. Through their shared recollections, we witness how resilience manifests not in controlling circumstances but in how we respond when plans crumble.

The most powerful revelation? Surrender does not mean giving up bodily autonomy. Even in the most challenging circumstances where options seem limited, we always retain the choice of how to meet the moment. Both women emphasize that difficult experiences don't diminish the beauty of life's transitions but highlight our capacity to find strength in unexpected places. Their wisdom extends far beyond birth and death, offering profound insights for navigating any of life's challenges with grace, presence, and what Elena calls being "badass about it."

Ready to build your resilience for life's transformative moments? Listen now and discover how to hold sacred space even when everything goes differently than planned. Then follow Alexandra @moonandSundoula to learn about her upcoming village-building workshops.

Listen to my birth playlist: PORTAL

Shout out to Gaia Midwives for their impeccable care!

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