Frequently Asked Questions

End Well is a nonprofit organization working to make the end of life a part of life. Founded in 2017 by physician Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, End Well transforms how the world thinks about, talks about, and plans for serious illness, caregiving, grief, and the end of life. We operate at the intersection of healthcare and popular culture, producing an annual gathering of speakers and storytellers, publishing free talks, podcasts, articles, and guides, and partnering with the entertainment industry to change how dying and death are portrayed on screen. In May 2026, End Well became a project of the Joy Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

End Well's mission is to transform the end of life into a human-centered experience. We believe all people should experience the end of life in a way that matches their values and goals with dignity, love, autonomy, and even joy. We pursue that mission through storytelling, convenings, free resources, and cultural advocacy.

End Well was founded in 2017 by Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, an internal medicine physician, host and producer of the Before We Go and TED Health podcasts, and executive producer involved with two Academy Award–nominated Netflix documentaries about the end of life, Extremis and End Game. She founded End Well on the conviction that dying isn't a medical issue — it's a human issue.

End Well is led by Executive Director and Curator Tracy Wheeler, who has curated End Well's content and speakers since its founding, working with more than 150 celebrities and unsung heroes to create talks about serious illness, grief, loss, and caregiving. Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider serves as Founder and Chief Medical Officer, and Molly Rosenfeld serves as Chief of Staff.

End Well isn't a hospice, a healthcare system, or a professional association — we occupy a different role: culture change and normalizing the conversation, work that few organizations in this space are built to do.

We're primarily a platform for other people's stories and expertise, not a single institutional voice. But our point of view still runs through everything we showcase — every speaker and story is vetted by our chief medical officer and other experts in the fields we convene, and we hold to a belief that these conversations deserve honesty, dignity, and even joy, not just clinical language or avoidance.

Yes. End Well is a project of the Joy Fund, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN: 33-1303691). Donations to End Well are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

No. End Well is a nonsectarian nonprofit. We welcome people of all faiths, spiritual traditions, and secular perspectives, and our content reflects a wide range of cultural and spiritual approaches to the end of life.

No. End Well does not provide medical care, hospice services, or clinical advice. We are an education, storytelling, and community organization. Our resources can help you understand options like palliative care, hospice, and advance care planning — but they are not a substitute for guidance from your own healthcare team.

End Well is supported by individual donors, foundation grants, and corporate sponsors. Because our talks, podcasts, and guides are free to everyone, this outside support is what makes that possible. See our sponsorship question below if you're interested in supporting End Well through your organization.

America is entering one of the most significant demographic shifts in its history. As the population ages, more families than ever will become caregivers, navigate serious illness, experience grief, and make complex medical decisions. Yet most of us are still taught almost nothing about these experiences until we're in the middle of them.

End Well exists to change that. We bring together healthcare, research, storytelling, entertainment, technology, public policy, and lived experience to help build a culture that's better prepared — not just to die well, but to care well and live well.

Most of us wait until a crisis to talk about serious illness, caregiving, or the end of life. By then, emotions are high and decisions can feel overwhelming. Research consistently shows that earlier conversations help people receive care that's more aligned with their values, reduce stress on families, and improve quality of life.

But these conversations aren't only about preparing for death. They're about understanding what matters most while we're alive. Talking about mortality doesn't make life smaller. For many people, it brings greater clarity, deeper connection, and a renewed appreciation for the time we have.

Whether you're a physician, caregiver, entrepreneur, policymaker, artist, or simply someone who wants to be better prepared for life's hardest moments, End Well offers something rare: a chance to learn from people who have lived through what most of us hope to avoid talking about.

Attendees leave with practical ideas, new perspectives, and meaningful connections. Some discover better ways to care for patients or loved ones. Others rethink how they want to live their own lives. Many say they come for the information and return for the community.

Most healthcare conferences are designed for one profession. End Well is intentionally interdisciplinary — closer to the TED experience of end of life than to a clinical conference.

Our speakers include physicians, nurses, researchers, patients, caregivers, filmmakers, comedians, policymakers, entrepreneurs, designers, journalists, artists, and public figures. They don't simply present alongside one another — they learn from one another.

We're also one of the only stages where artists and celebrities speak openly about dying, alongside hospice nurses and death doulas. Many arrive not thinking of themselves as storytellers at all, and leave having told the story that ends up shifting how an entire room — or field — thinks about stigma.

Many public figures have experienced serious illness, caregiving, or profound loss and want to help make these conversations more visible.

At End Well, celebrities participate not as entertainers but as storytellers, advocates, caregivers, patients, or family members sharing lived experience. Their stories help normalize conversations that millions of people are having behind closed doors while bringing wider attention to issues that affect every family.

Healthcare leaders come to End Well because improving the end-of-life experience requires more than better medicine.

Hospital executives, physicians, nurses, hospice leaders, researchers, insurers, and policymakers attend to learn from one another — and from patients, caregivers, designers, journalists, and artists. They leave with practical ideas for improving care, communication, and the patient and family experience.

People return because the conference itself is really just the starting point. The relationships it catalyzes — collaborations, close friendships, referrals, work that begins over a conversation in the hallway — are the actual substance, and those don't end when the event does.

End Well has also become a kind of universal reference point for the field: the name people point to when they're trying to explain what they do to someone outside it. Many attendees return to reconnect with colleagues and friends who care deeply about making the end of life more human, and for many, it's the one place where conversations about mortality feel honest, hopeful, and surprisingly joyful.

Yes — but probably not in the way people expect.

The conference includes stories of illness, caregiving, and loss, but it is equally full of laughter, creativity, curiosity, music, and hope. Attendees often describe leaving feeling more connected to life than when they arrived.

Absolutely.

End Well doesn't pretend that serious illness, grief, or dying are easy. Instead, we focus on what can make these experiences better: honest conversations, compassionate care, thoughtful planning, supportive communities, and stronger relationships.

Hope isn't about avoiding difficult realities. It's about discovering what's still possible within them.

End Well works in three main ways:

• Tools & resources — We find and share real-world solutions and personal stories about facing life's toughest challenges, all published for free: talks, podcasts, articles, and guides.
• Conversations & convenings — Our annual event brings together healthcare professionals, designers, entrepreneurs, patients, caregivers, artists, and public figures to talk about all things end of life. Our free virtual events reach hundreds of thousands of people.
• Education & advocacy — We shift cultural narratives by influencing how illness, dying, and death are portrayed in media and on television, including original research and entertainment-industry partnerships.

End Well's content spans five core areas: grief, caregiving, end of life, serious illness, and ritual & meaning. Within those, you'll find everything from advance care planning and hospice basics to grief in the workplace, caregiver burnout, death doulas, legacy projects, and how different cultures mark death and mourning.

Yes. Every talk, podcast episode, article, and guide End Well publishes is free. We believe conversations about the end of life should be accessible to everyone, which is why our work is supported by donors and sponsors rather than paywalls.

End Well is for anyone who will die or love someone who will — which is to say, everyone. In practice, our community includes patients living with serious illness, family caregivers, people who are grieving, healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, death doulas), entrepreneurs and designers building in the end-of-life space, creators and journalists, and the simply curious. Our site includes dedicated guides for each of these audiences.

All End Well talks are free to watch on our Watch page and on End Well's YouTube channel. Our library includes talks from physicians, caregivers, grief experts, comedians, actors, faith leaders, and people living with terminal illness.

Yes — two. Before We Go is a narrative podcast hosted by End Well founder Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider; season one follows her father's terminal cancer diagnosis, and season two features guest interviews. The End Well Podcast, hosted by Dr. Ungerleider and Executive Director Tracy Wheeler, features conversations with relationship experts, death doulas, nurses, comedians, and others working to make the end of life more human. Find both on our Listen page or wherever you get podcasts.

End Well publishes original research on how death and dying are portrayed in entertainment, including the white papers Death on Television: Flipping the Script (2023) and Changing the Channel on Death (2025, with the USC Norman Lear Center). We also partner directly with television creators — including work connected to the Emmy-winning HBO Max series The Pitt — to make on-screen portrayals of serious illness, caregiving, and death more honest and human. Read more on our Research page.

For many people, television and film shape expectations about illness, caregiving, grief, and dying long before they encounter these experiences in real life.

End Well partners with writers, producers, actors, and studios to encourage more accurate, nuanced, and compassionate portrayals of the end of life. Better stories can help millions of people feel more informed, less afraid, and more prepared for the conversations they'll eventually face.

End Well hosts an annual gathering — part symposium, part storytelling showcase — that brings together voices from healthcare, design, technology, policy, entertainment, and lived experience to reimagine the end of life. Since 2017, End Well has featured more than 150 speakers, from renowned physicians and hospice nurses to Emmy-winning actors, bestselling authors, and formerly incarcerated hospice caregivers. Talks are later published free online.

End Well 2026 takes place on November 12, 2026 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, with a virtual attendance option for those who can't join in person. Visit our End Well 2026 page for tickets, the speaker lineup, and program details.

Yes. End Well offers virtual attendance for our annual event, and our free virtual programming throughout the year reaches hundreds of thousands of people. Details for each event are posted on our Events pages.

Yes. End Well offers continuing education credits for eligible healthcare professionals attending our annual event. Details, including accreditation and claiming instructions, are published on the event page each year.

Ticket policies, including any refund or transfer windows, are posted on the event registration page at the time of purchase. For questions about an existing order, email hello@endwellproject.org with your confirmation details.

Yes. We offer live captioning and virtual attendance for those who cannot join in person. If you have a specific accessibility need for the in-person event, email hello@endwellproject.org in advance so we can accommodate you.

Email us at hello@endwellproject.org with the speaker's name, website, and links to past talks or presentations. Our team, led by Executive Director Tracy Wheeler, curates each year's program and reviews every suggestion. Because we receive many submissions, we can't respond to all of them — but we read them all.

Yes. Talks from every End Well event since 2017 are available for free on our Watch page and YouTube channel.

End Well's work is made possible through the support of foundations, mission-aligned corporate sponsors, and philanthropic partners who share our commitment to transforming how we think about serious illness, caregiving, grief, and the end of life. If you're interested in making a major gift or supporting End Well through a donor-advised fund, please email hello@endwellproject.org. We'd love to start a conversation.

End Well partners with companies, foundations, and other organizations that want to support free, public conversations about serious illness, caregiving, grief, and the end of life. Partnership opportunities include our annual symposium, original research, podcasts, and other educational initiatives. Email hello@endwellproject.org to learn more about current opportunities

Sign up at endwellproject.org/subscribe to get the latest talks, articles, event news, and fresh ideas from the frontlines of all things end of life.

Join the movement on Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Tag us @endwellproject to share your thoughts and stories.

End Well is a small team, so volunteer opportunities are limited and typically tied to our annual event. If you'd like to be considered, email hello@endwellproject.org and tell us a bit about yourself.

We welcome pitches and story ideas. Email hello@endwellproject.org with a short summary of your idea and any relevant writing samples. Our editorial team reviews all submissions, and pieces on sensitive topics are reviewed by End Well staff before publication.

Open roles, when available, are posted on our site and shared through our newsletter and social channels. We don't maintain an open rolling application, so the best way to stay informed is to subscribe.

Email hello@endwellproject.org for general inquiries. For media requests, visit our Press Inquiries page.

End Well c/o Joy Fund, 1083 Vine Street, #908, Healdsburg, CA 95448

Email us with your outlet, deadline, and topic. End Well's founder, Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, is a frequent expert voice on end-of-life topics for outlets including CNN, MSNBC, CBS News, TIME, and The New York Times, and our team can also connect you with speakers and subject-matter experts from our community.

Palliative care is specialized medical care focused on relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness — pain, nausea, fatigue, anxiety — regardless of diagnosis or prognosis. It can start at diagnosis and be provided alongside curative treatment; you don't have to be dying to receive it, and it doesn't mean you're giving up on treatment.

Hospice is a model of care for people who have a life-limiting illness and are no longer pursuing curative treatment, typically when a doctor estimates six months or less to live if the disease runs its usual course. It focuses on comfort, dignity, and quality of life, and includes support for family members, not just the patient.

Many families wait too long to start hospice, often enrolling only in the final days or weeks of life. Hospice can be started as soon as a doctor certifies a six-month or less prognosis, and earlier enrollment generally means more time to benefit from its support. If you're wondering whether it's "too early," it's worth asking your care team directly.

Useful starting points: What should I expect in the coming weeks or months? What are my treatment options, and what does each one trade off? What can be done for pain or discomfort? Who else should be part of this conversation? It's okay to ask the same question more than once, in different ways, until it makes sense.

A shift away from curative treatment isn't the end of care — it's a change in its goal, from curing the disease to maximizing comfort and quality of life. This is often when palliative care or hospice becomes central, and when conversations about what matters most to the person can carry the most weight.

Children generally do better with honest, age-appropriate information than with silence, which they often fill in with something worse than the truth. Use clear, simple language, invite questions, and let them know it's okay to feel whatever they feel. Follow their lead on how much detail they want, and revisit the conversation as things change.

Common signs include chronic exhaustion, irritability, trouble sleeping, feeling resentful or numb, getting sick more often, and losing interest in things you used to enjoy. Burnout isn't a personal failing — it's a predictable response to sustained, high-stakes stress without enough support.

Frequently cited lessons: it's okay to ask for help before you're desperate for it; you can love someone and still find caregiving exhausting; respite care exists and is worth using; and the healthcare system often won't tell you what's available unless you ask.

Being specific helps — "Can you handle Mom's Tuesday appointments" lands better than "I need more help." Naming what you're doing and what it's costing you, without assuming ill intent, tends to go further than an accumulated resentment eventually spilling over.

Yes. Resentment alongside love is one of the most common and least talked-about caregiving experiences. It doesn't mean you don't care — it usually means you're depleted and the demands have outpaced your resources.

Small, protected routines matter more than grand gestures: a short walk, a call with a friend, a night where someone else covers. Respite care, support groups, and being honest with your own doctor about your stress levels are all legitimate parts of caregiving, not distractions from it.

Anticipatory grief is the grieving that happens before a loss occurs — often while caring for someone with a serious or terminal illness. It can include sadness, anger, guilt, and even relief, and it doesn't replace the grief that comes after death; the two can coexist.

Grief triggers real physiological responses — fatigue, chest tightness, appetite changes, trouble sleeping, a foggy memory. The body and nervous system respond to loss the way they respond to other major stressors, which is why grief can feel like an illness even though it isn't one.

No fixed timeline exists, despite popular models suggesting otherwise. Grief tends to move in waves rather than stages, often resurfacing around anniversaries, holidays, or unexpected triggers, sometimes years later. "Getting over it" isn't really the goal — living alongside it is more realistic.

Simple and honest tends to land best: "I'm so sorry," "I'm thinking of you," "I don't know what to say, but I'm here." Naming the person who died, rather than avoiding it, is often welcomed, not painful.

Phrases that rush someone toward silver linings — "everything happens for a reason," "they're in a better place," "at least..." — often land as dismissive, even when well-intentioned. Comparing losses ("I know how you feel, my dog died too") can also minimize rather than console.

Guilt is one of the most common grief emotions — over things said or unsaid, care given or not given, even over moments of relief. It doesn't necessarily reflect anything you actually did wrong; it's often the mind's way of trying to make sense of something that feels senseless.

es — this is anticipatory grief, and it's common among caregivers and family members of people with a serious or terminal illness. It doesn't lessen the grief that follows death; many people experience both.

Bereavement leave policies vary widely by employer and are often shorter than what grief actually requires. It's reasonable to ask HR directly about leave, flexible scheduling, or EAP counseling benefits, and to expect that grief doesn't stay contained to the days you're formally out.

Yes. Pet loss grief is real grief, and it's often underestimated by people around you, which can make it feel more isolating rather than less. For many people, a pet was a daily companion and caregiving relationship in its own right — the depth of the loss tracks accordingly.

A death doula (or end-of-life doula) provides non-medical emotional, spiritual, and practical support to someone who is dying and their family — similar in spirit to a birth doula, but at the other end of life. Support can include companionship, help with legacy projects, and guidance through the practical and emotional territory of dying.

Hospice teams typically include nurses, aides, social workers, and chaplains who visit regularly (usually at home) to manage symptoms, provide equipment and medication, and support the family. Care is focused on comfort rather than cure, and support continues for the family for a period after death, often including bereavement services.

Active dying refers to the final days or hours of life, marked by physical changes such as irregular breathing, decreased responsiveness, changes in skin color or temperature, and reduced need for food or water. Hospice teams can help families recognize these signs and know what to expect.

Signs can include increased sleep or unresponsiveness, changes in breathing patterns, cooling of the hands and feet, and withdrawal from food, drink, and conversation. These signs vary by person and illness, and a hospice or palliative care team can help interpret what's happening in a specific situation.

In the immediate aftermath, there are practical steps: a doctor or hospice nurse pronounces death and provides a death certificate; a funeral home or medical examiner is contacted to take the body; and, in the following days and weeks, next of kin typically need to notify Social Security, banks, insurance companies, and other institutions, and begin any estate or probate process. It's a lot to hold at once — many families lean on a friend or professional to help manage the list.

An advance directive is a legal document that states your wishes for medical care if you're unable to speak for yourself, and often names a person (a healthcare proxy or agent) to make decisions on your behalf. Requirements and forms vary by state.

A POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) is a medical order, typically for people with a serious illness or advanced frailty, that translates treatment wishes into actionable instructions for emergency responders and medical staff. It complements, rather than replaces, an advance directive — most people don't need one until a doctor recommends it based on health status.

This person, often called a healthcare proxy or agent, should be someone who knows your values, is willing to advocate for them under pressure, and can be reached in an emergency. It's worth having a direct conversation with them about what matters most to you, not just naming them on a form.

Copies should go to your healthcare proxy, your primary doctor, and any hospital where you're likely to be treated — not just in a home file no one else can access in an emergency. Many states also have registries, and some people keep a card in their wallet noting where the documents are kept.

Increasingly part of end-of-life planning: a password manager or written list of key accounts, and, where available, a "legacy contact" designation (offered by Apple, Google, Facebook, and others) that lets a trusted person access or memorialize accounts after death.

You don't need to have the perfect words. Often, simply saying, "I'm thinking of you," or "I'm here," is enough. Rather than offering advice or trying to make the situation better, consider asking, "What would be most helpful today?"

Sometimes the greatest gift isn't knowing what to say. It's being willing to stay.

Most people don't. Silence isn't a sign that you don't care. It usually means you care deeply.

It's okay to admit that. "I don't know what to say, but I wanted you to know I'm thinking about you."

Honesty is almost always more comforting than polished reassurance.

Instead of saying, "Let me know if you need anything," offer something specific.

"Can I bring dinner on Tuesday?"

"I'd love to drive you to your appointment."

"Can I walk the dog?"

"I'd be happy to pick up groceries."

When life becomes overwhelming, making decisions about what help to request can feel like one more burden. Specific offers make it easier to accept support.

If you're wondering whether your presence would be welcome, consider asking.

Many people appreciate visitors, even if they're sleeping more or speaking less.

Keep visits flexible. Let the person's energy guide the conversation. Sometimes ten quiet minutes are more meaningful than an hour of talking.

Remember that simply sitting together can be enough. Presence is its own form of communication.

Grief doesn't end when the services do. In many ways, that's when the quieter, longer work of grieving begins. Reach out again in a few weeks. Remember birthdays and anniversaries.

Say the name of the person who died.

Invite someone for coffee, a walk, or dinner without expecting them to be cheerful. Consistency often matters more than intensity.

Many people return to work while they're still in the earliest days of mourning.

Thoughtful workplaces recognize that grief isn't confined to bereavement leave.

Managers can acknowledge losses, offer flexibility when possible, check in over time — not just immediately after a death — and avoid expecting someone to "be back to normal" on a predetermined schedule.

Compassion is good for people.

It's also good leadership.

From the End Well Community: "Showing up isn't about finding the right words. It's about reminding someone they don't have to carry the weight of this experience by themselves."