I am a forty-year-old French expat based in Sheffield. After teaching for a few years in mainstream secondary education in France, I decided to move to the UK to become a private language tutor which has been my main activity for the last ten years. I am the happy mother of a four-year-old who is bustling with life who is, in many ways, my greatest teacher as forces me to be present in the moment and to see and feel the joy in the most simplest things. I have been drawn to the topic of death for as far as I can remember, pondering and reflecting on it from a very young age. Growing up, I experienced the loss of relatives in a very proximate way. In 2017, my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer which prompted me to go back to France to stay with her and offer her my support. I accompanied her throughout this journey until her death in October 2018. This for me was a very profound experience which was decisive in shaping my life afterwards and significantly changed or deepened certain of my perspectives on things.
In 2023, I experienced a deep sadness and feeling of helplessness and realised that I wanted to do more for others, and further connect with and help people who are vulnerable. This is where I started doing resarch around end-of-life companionship and decided to start training with Living Well Dying Well. I completed my Foundation training in September 2024 and obtained my PA certificate in April 2025. I am hoping to start training for Module 1 of the Diploma in November 2026.
In the meantime, I am looking for opportunities to offer support to end-of-life patients and/or their families on a volunteering basis. I would also like to get to know people in the eol community, fully experienced or in-training doulas, to be able to share thoughts/ questions/doubts and concerns and be in a position where I can get support from others as well as give support where I can. “A problem shared is a problem halved” and “sharing is caring” as my partner always says. I am still at the very begining of this journey, I am not sure where it will lead but I am certain it will make me grow as a person, as a human, and make my life richer, whatever the outcome is.