Death Cafe profile for Kate Saunders
Location: United States
About Kate Saunders:
My path into end-of-life care began years ago while working as a CNA on a hospital comfort care floor. In those early days, I witnessed firsthand the tenderness, intensity, and sacredness that surround life’s final chapter. Sitting at bedsides, offering emotional support to families, and learning to recognize the subtle signs of transition shaped me in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time.
When my father passed years later, that experience allowed me to guide my own family through his final days with calm clarity. I understood what was happening. I knew what to expect. And I saw how powerful it is when someone in the room feels steady.
I am not afraid of death. I am deeply respectful of it.
As an end-of-life doula in training, my role is not medical, it is human. I provide presence, emotional support, and serious illness guidance to individuals and families navigating serious illness, active dying, and early grief. Sometimes that looks like sitting quietly. Sometimes it looks like helping prepare, reflect, or simply breathe through uncertainty.
I believe end-of-life care should feel dignified, informed, and compassionate, not rushed or overwhelming.
The Quiet Lantern was created from the belief that even in life’s quietest and most difficult moments, there can still be light.
It is an honor to walk beside others during this sacred time.
What brings you to Death Cafe?
I am passionate about end-of-life conversations and helping others speak about the topic. I want to host my own Death Cafe.
What would you like your legacy to be?
That I lived a life full of compassion and understanding while touching the lives of others.
Contact Kate Saunders
Kate Saunders's posts on the Death Cafe website
With Kate Saunders
April 22, 2026, 4.00 p.m. - 5.30 p.m. (EDT)
Accepts donations