Revisited: What Dying Teaches Us About Living with Death Doula Alua Arthur
3/17/202645 min
Team Simon here! While A Bit of Optimism is on a short break, we’re revisiting a few episodes you helped make some of our favorites. We’ll be back with brand-new conversations next week, on March 24th, 2026. In the meantime, we’re bringing back an episode that explores a word most people like to avoid: death.
We dance around the subject or use vague euphemisms to not hurt anybody. But what if being open about our deaths meant we could live happier lives?
That’s where Alua Arthur comes in. Alua is one of the most...
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSimon Sinek· Host0:00
What is the most interesting secret or story you've ever heard somebody tell you on their deathbed?
Alua Arthur· Guest0:04
I've heard so many secrets.
Simon Sinek· Host0:05
Oh, tell one. What's your favorite? Come on, come on.
Alua Arthur· Guest0:08
Um, about the kids, about mistresses.
Simon Sinek· Host0:11
The kids.
Alua Arthur· Guest0:11
Yeah.
Simon Sinek· Host0:12
Other families.
Alua Arthur· Guest0:13
About like other families. There's so many other families. So many other families. And I think that 23andMe and ancestry.com and all those places, we're about to find out a whole lot of other families.
Simon Sinek· Host0:23
That's right. [laughs] It's all coming out.
Alua Arthur· Guest0:25
Yeah. Nobody's dying with secrets anymore.
Simon Sinek· Host0:27
[laughs] Let's talk about death, dying, being dead. Those words are so jarring, literally just hearing them make many of us squirm. It's such a morbid conversation. Who wants to have it? Or maybe we're thinking about it the wrong way. That's where Alua Arthur comes in. She's flipping the script. She's a New York Times bestselling author and one of the leading death doulas. Like a doula helps some people prepare for birth, death doulas help other people navigate life's final chapter with clarity and grace. But for those of us who aren't currently in the process of dying and aren't navigating grief, thinking about death may actually be the best hack to focus on life. This is "A Bit of Optimism." [upbeat music] So I'm always fascinated by people's career paths, right?
Alua Arthur· Guest1:27
Mm-hmm.
Simon Sinek· Host1:27
Doctors and lawyers tend to know pretty