Meet Carla Torres-davis | Death Doula & Midwife

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carla Torres-davis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carla, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I believe that most important factor behind the success of my brand is being authentic, seen and as relational as possible with the way my work presents itself in the world. Being an end-of-life business, I find that it can at times a very touchy and vulnerable place to meet people at. So, I try to show as much of who I am in a real way by sharing my thoughts and perspectives as to why my services are important and needed to gain familiarity and safety with the people who come to me.

What should our readers know about your business?
A Venerated Death is a End-of-Life Care business that offers Death Doula and Death Midwifery Services. This includes everything that needs to happen before death i.e. End-of-Life Planning, during the dying process and after death has occurred. My offerings and services are split up within those 3 tiers of services to help curate individualized care for the dying and their families. I am well educated and skilled at how to navigate the unknowns of the end-of-life care processes, such has discussing options with the medical care team as to care and placement, getting on Hospice or Palliative care, being the front person for the family to navigate these relationships and their roles through the dying process, creating ritual and ceremony during the dying process, advocating for the dyings wishes and also, being a resource and direct go to person for the funeral home, celebration of life/funeral services and body disposition. Alongside my Death Doula and Midwife Services A Venerated Death has an online shop that sells death care goods and intentionally dress candles for vigil holding, grief, death contemplation and ancestor veneration. I feel that the online store along side the individualized care and support at end-of-life for my clients is what sets my business apart from other end-of-life care business all around the globe.

A Venerated Death was founded in December of 2022 and has helped support many individuals in their dying process and after. A Venerated Death has created a huge support system for individuals wanting to make meaning and honoring around death and dying in a personal and community orientated way. I am most proud of that – that I have been able to help people hold death in a more normalized and sacred way. That I have been able to support dying people and their loved ones through the most difficult time of their lives. That I can look back and realize that in some small and sometimes big way I’ve been given the opportunity to serve in this way that brings comfort, support and understanding.

Owning a End-of-Life Care business had not been an easy task. In fact, outside of my role as a Mother its been one of my biggest challenges in my life. I’ve pushed through the resistance that sometimes seems collective that says Death Doula’s can’t make money or won’t be adopted into reality as a professional business and I’ve pushed through the death denying culture we live in and I continue to with embracing arms because I am committed to the service that my offerings bring to the world. I see them as valuable and I believe them to be important. Not just because its mine but because I wish these services were available to me and my family when my Father died in 2016. I have also found that stabilizing my business like you would any other service based business creates the avenues and the funnels in the world for my people to find me. So, that has been a helpful learning curve in finding all ways I can bring accessibility to my community through my service offerings my for those who need them most. Its my mission – to create accessible skill sets to support those going through their end-of-life experience in the same way we have accessibility and skill sets for everything else important in life. Its needed and important.

And, I’d just like the world or whoever is reading this to know that if you don’t know that its important now, I promise you that you someday will. And, when your someday comes your gonna wanna know someone like me 🙂

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Ok ok, I love this! I would first take them to get coffee cause coffee first, always, lol at Pablo’s on 6th Avenue, take a stroll down South Broadway since we are in the area, maybe see a movie at the Mayan Theater and then get lunch at The Hornet before take a stroll through Fairmount Ceremony, maybe some vintage shopping at Antique’s, etc on Colfax and then dinner at Bastien’s down the street! Ok that was just one day but its a good start! ha

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to give a shoutout to all of the likeminded teachers and mentors I have had the chance to work with and learn from along my journey – Olivia Bareham, Jill Shock, the team at The Natural Funeral Home, Kelsi Tesone Mathews at In Memoriam and all those thought leaders within the End-of-Life Care Industry.

Website: https://avenerateddeath.com

Instagram: a_venerated_death

Other: Email: Carla@avenerateddeath.com