{
  "id": 458879,
  "title": "The Doulas Who Help Us Die",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/10/the-doulas-who-help-us-die",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-10T10:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The New Yorker",
    "slug": "the-new-yorker",
    "url": "https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/08/17/the-doulas-who-help-us-die"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a bustling New York City neighborhood, a woman named Chang made it her mission to provide comfort and support to those in the final stages of life. On a sunny May afternoon, Chang stood in front of an apartment building on East Fifty-second Street, ready to visit her client Eleanor Lennard. Eleanor, now a century old, had lived in the same building since the 1960s.\n\nEleanor's mind, though sharp, was marred by isolation. Her daughter had managed to get her admitted to hospice care, but the transition was difficult. With round-the-clock assistance from home health aides, Eleanor felt alone and discarded. She longed for conversations about art, literature, and current events, but her aides found her disoriented and agitated.\n\nEnter Chang, a doula specializing in end-of-life care. The term \"doula\" originates from the Greek for \"woman who serves,\" although its literal meaning is \"slave.\" As an end-of-life doula, Chang's role is nonmedical and centered on providing companionship to those nearing the end of their lives.\n\nChang had been visiting Eleanor weekly since January, eager to lend a listening ear and a comforting presence. One afternoon, Chang found Eleanor restless and agitated. Despite her aides' efforts to restrain her, Eleanor felt a strong urge to leave her bed. Inside the apartment, family portraits hung on the walls, capturing moments of joy and happiness.\n\nAs Chang spoke to Eleanor, she learned that the world had become a cruel place. Eleanor referred to an unnamed person as \"he,\" although Chang never learned his identity. Eleanor remained firm in her belief that her God was different from what others imagined him to be. She spoke of anger and cruelty, but ultimately, she affirmed her commitment to staying true to herself.\n\nIn September 2016, Chang experienced a profound personal loss when her father died. This loss, coupled with the passing of her mother-in-law, mother, and then her own mother within a span of three months, plunged Chang into a state of powerlessness and despondency. She questioned the society's treatment of those nearing the end of their lives and pondered the nature of death itself.\n\nA decade earlier, a hospice social worker named Henry Fersko-Weiss had grappled with similar questions, sparking a curiosity that would shape Chang's own approach to her work.",
  "summary": "In an aging America, thousands of people have adopted a new vocation: supporting others as they confront the end of life.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}