Welcome

I’m Nora Cedarwind Young ~ Death Midwife, Hospice Chaplain, Ceremonialist and Green Burial Educator. I live and work in the greater Seattle area, and teach workshops throughout the country. I create and facilitate ceremonies for all of life’s passages, from birth through the grave; but my heart truly lies in end-of-life work. My belief system, deeply grounded in the seasons and cycles of nature, has taught me that death is as certain and sacred as birth. I envision individuals and families fearlessly facing death, feeling free to extend this “time out of time” with a loved one, and knowing who to call for support.

Earth is our home, now is our time.

More than ever it is time for each of us on the planet to awaken to our mortality and our spiritual nature. We must live with heightened awareness of how we affect others and the interconnectedness of all. As we each begin to heal ourselves from the inside out, we become part of healing the Earth and others on the planet as well. As we embrace the idea that we are the stewards of this beautiful earth, we welcome “womb to womb” awareness. Let’s start loving each other, our living planet and the amazing spiral of life that is birth and death. May we have the wisdom to return from the toxic environment of institutions and sterile buildings to the safety and sacred space of home.

About Nora's Work

“Nora is the kind of change agent sorely needed in this field.  She helps families take ownership of their end-of-life rituals, but isn’t afraid to support decent funeral directors and cemeterians.  Nora knows that when it comes to making burial better serve people and the planet, it’s not about the suit you wear on the outside, but the ethic you embrace on the inside.”

— Joe Sehee, Executive Director, Green Burial Council 

 

“Although Nora describes her work as ‘basically a folkway,’ my recent workshop with her reflects a level of expertise in providing 
end of life care that tracks beautifully with the best practices of hospice and palliative care.

 

In organized hospice nursing, we like 
scientifically sound practices that we can research and prove. But 
many nurses who do this work also understand that we work in the 
presence of a sacred mystery. Nora understands this too, and her 
teaching about how to do it is grounded in lots of practical 
experience, compassionate reason, buckets of common sense and a 
wide open heart.

 

Being in her workshop fed my soul and was a 
delightful adjunct to my ongoing education in the clinical sciences 
of hospice and palliative nursing. I would recommend it to any 
hospice professional or volunteer who seeks to balance their heart 
and soul with their mind in order to become better at doing this 
important work.”

 

— Edmund Pendleton, MSN, FNP (BC), ARNP. Nurse Practitioner in Hospice 
and Palliative Medicine