Trudy James, MRE is a credentialed interfaith chaplain who graduated from the University of Kansas and Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She came to understand death and grief in new and deeper ways from her work directing an AIDS CareTeam program in Arkansas from 1989 to 1997 that served over 500 men and women CarePartners with AIDS. With love and support from their CareTeams, CarePartners talked openly about their own deaths, lived longer and died more peacefully. She was honored by President Clinton at the White House for her work with AIDS patients. Trudy continued her work with AIDS CareTeams in Seattle from 1997 to 2007 while also serving as a per diem Chaplain at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. When she retired, she created a small business called Heartwork. As a part of Heartwork, in 2008 Trudy began a series of community-based, end-of-life planning sessions called “A Gift for Yourself and Your Loved Ones”. The film Speaking of Dying grew out of her experiences with more than sixty of those groups (over 600 participants), and from her collaboration with Jennifer Jones, and from her desire to ensure that everyone knows a peaceful ending is possible.

Learn more at SpeakingofDying.com