#38 JaFoo Burnham and Exploring Choices About Death

Jennifer Munns Burnham, a.k.a. JaFoo, Mistress of Mirth and Possibility, is a social crusader. She began her encore career as a Death Doula, but soon realized that the foundation for a good death is laid long before the soul separates from the body. As an 11th Hour (death watch) hospice volunteer, she has witnessed easy and hard death. People who live lives of service, joy and forgiveness tend to transition peacefully. But in order to have an easier death, individual & family contemplation, acceptance and planning are also needed. The ER is not the place to have this family dialogue. Modern medicine’s role is to prolong life until nothing else can be done, usually with little consideration about how a frail elder will be cared for if they manage to survive. Her research and experience have inspired her first boomer publication: Natural Longevity or Medically Induced Longevity, More Than A Personal Preference, Implications for Generations. Changes in attitude and our death practices are not only necessary to reclaim our dignity and humanity at the end of body, they are the self-generated solution to entitlement reform. jenniferburnham@comcast.net