Professional Writing Major Discusses Interest in Pursuit of Being a Death Doula
By Lexi Gallagher | Observer Contributor
Lunenburg resident and Mount Wachusett professional writing student, Annabelle Kennedy, has a history with the written word and enjoys the act of writing. However, she also has a passion towards going in a different direction than most after graduating: being a death doula.
“Helping dying people and their families process emotions and help with a difficult transition really seemed to call to me,” Kennedy said. “I’ve been definitely exploring the idea of being a death doula. I started listening to a Tarot podcast about five years ago, and the woman who hosted it is a thanatologist and discussed the subject there.” From there, Kennedy found out about the death doula movement.
According to experts, death doulas are people who give a range of social, emotional, practical, and spiritual support to people nearing the end of life and those close to them.
Kennedy, 38, has also enjoyed writing for a while. Kennedy’s mother was a professional writer when she was growing up. “My mom worked for the local paper while I was growing up. I spent my formative years in a newsroom. I remember when I was little, my mom had to hide me under a desk while she was working because the publisher at the time wouldn’t allow children in the building. All of her coworkers knew I was there and even her direct boss, but nobody ratted her out,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy said she has found the most enjoyable part of her Professional Writing degree to be in creative writing, specifically poetry. When asked about her favorite class at MWCC so far, Kennedy responded, “I think it’s been creative writing. It has really helped me kind of explore writing in its different forms, and I discovered I like poetry a lot.”
Though within her degree, she has found poetry to be her passion, Kennedy foresees her even deeper passion of becoming a death doula to greatly impact her path after college. She said, “I feel like my poetry really helps me explore and express my spiritual side. Poetry also lets me process all feelings and situations.”
Kennedy continues to show that you can change your mind about your life paths, take a pause on education, and have multiple interests, whether it is related to a degree decision you made years ago or not. Kennedy explained, “When I was 18, I came to MWCC for a few semesters and did most of my prerequisites, and then I left for a while, and then decided this year to come back with the goal to finish college before I am 40.”
To some, going in a different direction from your degree, especially with a job like this, may seem scary or dark, but to Kennedy, it is a job that would both be interesting for her and helpful for those who need peace within these challenging times. “Just being able to allow them to find peace in the situation is really interesting to me,” Kennedy explained. “It’s a way to help people heal in a way that you wouldn’t expect.”
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