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About Lisa
Lisa Caraway Oliver, EdD, GC-C
A life transitions educator and certified grief counselor, Dr. Lisa Caraway Oliver educates individuals on life transitions and its residual effects: grief, mourning, and bereavement. Through this education, individuals are empowered to make informed decisions concerning advanced care plans and are guided towards comprehending their feelings, emotions, and actions that occur as a result of a loss. The passion for this work emanates from a desire to mitigate potential generational dysfunction that occurs when families postpone discussions on these inevitable topics.
Dr. Oliver earned her Doctor of Education degree in adult education from the University of Georgia, where, within the framework of death and dying, emotion work, and informal learning, she researched the work of hospice care professionals. She earned her Master of Science degree in Instructional Technology from Georgia State University, and her Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Howard University. Dr. Oliver earned her certification in grief counseling from the American Academy of Grief Counseling.
Dr. Oliver facilitates, with fellow parishioner Sharyn M. Hailey, the Dying & Death Learning Series at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and is a facilitator of Walking the Mourner’s Path, an eight-week, Christ-centered grief ministry. Prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Oliver volunteered in the Emergency/Trauma Department at Grady Memorial Hospital, facilitated a monthly Death Cafe and a Life Transitions Education Series throughout the community via the Fulton County Library System, and coordinated, with other like-minded parents and grandparents, a “Free Hugs” campaign at the Black Atlanta Pride Community Festival and the Atlanta Pride Parade.
Dr. Oliver has a YouTube channel, Dr. Lisa Talks About... where she addresses topics such as What NOT say to Someone Whose Loved one has Died, and Why you Should Always go to the Funeral. She is also a blogger of the site DyingandDeathTalk.com and is a podcaster, with humorist Jerry Drye, of the podcast Dr. Death and the Humorist. Dr. Oliver's book, Final Wishes: A Workbook for Planning a Funeral, is available in both print and Kindle versions from Amazon.com. She is currently working on a second book, working title, Let’s Talk About This “Little” Thing Called Death and Dying.
A native of Atlantic City, New Jersey, Dr. Oliver resides in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband Jeff, their two adult children, two messy dogs, and one vocal cat and a bearded dragon.
Why Talk About Life Transitions?
Because we NEED to have these talks with our families and loved ones before we HAVE to have them.
Think about this: not everyone can (nor wants to) be pregnant and give birth; however, if I were to ask 10 people to tell me something about being pregnant or giving birth, I would guess 9 out of 10 people could provide me with some information: only females can get pregnant, it usually take 9 months to birth a baby, etc.
Conversely, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TRANSITION FROM LIFE TO DEATH. Most of us don't even think about all the things that are associated with this transition, until we or someone we love is in an Intensive Care Unit and decisions on type of care must be made.
Make the decision to leave a legacy of peace and order; talk about (and more importantly DOCUMENT AND DISTRIBUTE) your life transition decisions. I am here to assist and guide you through the process.
Let's Connect!
- I can meet with your group to talk about how to prepare for a good end of life, or any of the other topics of my Life Transitions Series.
- We can hold a Death Cafe. It will be FUN (OK, maybe not "fun," but it will not be as bad or weird as you think).