Annie Wilson
Photo Credit: Johanna Austin
I believe dying is a creative space. I am a death doula, and an experimental choreographer and performer based in Philadelphia. My dances have always been concerned with dying and grief, a concern that has only grown in recent years.
My brother-in-law, Greg, died of a heroin overdose in 2015, and my sister Torrie also died of a heroin overdose one year later. Both of their deaths were devastating to my family and my husband’s family. One of the most challenging aspects of the grief process was how utterly isolated and alone it left my spouse and I. It became very clear that there is a dominant cultural fear of death, dying, and grieving.
My role as a death doula is to serve folks who are: planning for their end of life and funeral, seeking ritual support during active dying, and grieving a loss (death or otherwise). My role as a cultural worker is to transform the bone-deep fear of death and dying in the United States.
I am an INELDA-trained death doula since 2020. I am CARES certified in end-of-life care for dementia patients, am Reiki 2 certified, and have studied with Sacred Grief, Going with Grace, The Grave Woman, and the Centre for Sacred Deathcare.
I volunteer at Penn Medicine hospice, the VA Medical Center, and the PA Debt Collective. I have previously volunteered with Prevention Point after my sister and brother-in-law died of heroin overdoses.
I believe there is a systemic dysfunction in how dying people and their loved ones are served, and my work as a doula is to both fill in nonmedical gaps of support and to transform the system so that those gaps no longer exist, including supporting community deathcare.