Do you need to get your “affairs in order” once and for all?
Then you need to join me at
Prep School
Join me on zoom this fall so you can finally tick this off your to-do list.
Prep School will take you from “I don’t even know where to start with this stuff” to “I’m ready for anything!”
Prep School is a comprehensive, holistic, and modern take on personal planning tasks. Working with a thoughtfully designed curriculum in an intimate & supportive online class setting, you’ll get your affairs in order with confidence and clarity.
Prep School isn’t about preparing for death. It’s actually a program designed to help you prepare for every aspect of life.
Are you someone who KNOWS you need to get some paperwork together so you don’t leave a mess behind for the folks you love most in this world, but you find yourself saying “I don’t know where to start” or “I don’t really like the idea of thinking about this stuff because it’s frankly not that fun to think about illness, incapacity, aging and death” or even “well, my parents have a Will and I know my mom wants to be cremated when she dies, so I’m all good” - if any of this sounds like you, then Prep School is for you!
Maybe you feel like you don’t really have anyone you can ask to help you with things like medical advocacy, being an executor, or naming on you Power of Attorney. Trust me, you’re NOT alone. There are solutions to this very common problem, and Prep School will help you find them.
Could it be that you recently stood by and watched a friend lose a parent or loved one, and NOTHING was prepared in advance? Were you witness to the chaos that ensued, chaos that was only compounded by grief and loss? Does the thought of going through that yourself or inadvertently leaving someone YOU love with a mess make you break out in hives? Believe me: the loss will occur. Deep and difficult feelings will follow. But chaos doesn’t have to be part of this equation at all: Prep School can help.
If you want to be calm, confident, and in-control as you age, join one of the upcoming sessions!
What happens in Prep School?
Prep School will help you understand how to clearly articulate your beliefs, values & wishes so you can empower people to speak on your behalf if you are ever unable to do so. It will empower you, and allow you to be sure you’ll get the care that’s right for you at all stages of your life (and end-of-life).
Prep School is a specially designed program that will guide you through four critically important pillars of holistic personal planning:
Legal, administrative, & financial documentation
Medical & philosophical decision-making (for both sudden illness/incapacitation and end-of life)
Cremation/burial & ceremony choices
Lasting legacy messages
Depending on your learning style, you’ll either join a once-a-week class for 5 weeks beginning in September or sign up for the weekend “bootcamp” options in October or November.
Do I have to show up to all the classes?
Short answer: it’s better if you do, but the sessions are recorded so if you miss something, you won’t truly miss it. But you should approach this like any other class you want to get something out of. What you put in will vastly influence what you get out!
Should my best friend/spouse/kid/mom come with me?
We often have parent-child participants in Prep School, and spouses tell me they feel closer because of doing this work together. Friends doing the program together keep each other accountable. It’s a GREAT idea to do this work with someone, but it’s not mandatory. Sometimes, one spouse does the course and then several months later the other one is finally ready to join up. If you have someone you’d like to join you in this program, invite them! Need one more practical reason to ask someone along? As a small bonus, you’ll get a 10% discount when you purchase two (or more) seats in the class!
I feel such relief after taking Prep School! I thought my husband and I had done a good job getting our estate in order, but I realized during the course that there was still a lot of work to do, especially because our goal is to not be a burden on our kids when we pass. Completing some of this paperwork was both harder and easier than I had imagined. Harder because there were a number of questions that I had never considered, especially around the topic of medical incapacitation. Easier because we were given lots of different tools to help us complete the tasks. Anyone who is serious about making the role of an appointed medical representative or executor easier needs to take this course!
—T. Underwood, Prep School graduate
I developed Prep School in early 2022 as a natural evolution of my 1-1 holistic advance care planning work. My clients had ranged in age from early 30s to late 70s by that point (it’s mid-20s to mid 80s now by the way!!), and I’ve worked with folks who’s net worth rivals Bill Gates’ and people who have been receiving some form of social assistance for many years. But somehow, EVERY person I worked with had remarkably similar needs, questions, and concerns.
As an educator for many years, I knew that bringing people together to do this deeply personal work would enrich everyone’s experience of it. I knew that learning in community strengthens comprehension and completion rates. And as a funeral director for many years, I knew first hand that far too many people entered emotionally difficult periods with no preparation in place. Nothing feels worse than watching someone go through what is often the very hardest thing they will ever experience and then watch their grief be compounded by chaos.
That’s why I created Prep School. I wanted people to be supported and feel connected from the moment they were ready to commit to this journey. I wanted people to be ready for anything life could through at them. I wanted them to feel calm, confident, and in control.
Creating this program helped me “take my own medicine”. Like so many others who teach, in any subject matter, I hadn’t necessarily been as attentive to my OWN holistic planning as I could have been. I worked—and reworked—this curriculum many times and during that time I came to embrace the fact that even someone like me (who literally does this for a living) might be cutting corners or not willing to look at certain elements of advance care planning with fearlessness and a willingness to “get er done”.
Creating Prep School helped me feel confident about my (rather unique) subject matter expertise. It helped me realize that we ALL need to do this work, regardless of who we are, what stage of life we are in, how much money/how many kids we have (or don’t have). Every single one of us NEED to do this. For ourselves. And for the people we love most in the world.
Most of all though? Creating Prep School helped me realize that every single one of us has the opportunity to be in charge of what matters to us. To document our desires. To share out beliefs, and to prepare for both the known and unknown futures we are so lucky to be hurtling towards. It made me realize that even in the face of uncertainty, we can have clarity, connection, and calm.
And I think Prep School will help you with all this, too!
You’re probably a lot like me before I got into this work… you don’t know how to get started when it comes to “estate planning”.
And:
⇝ You might think that you don’t really have an estate anyway, isn’t that for rich people?
⇝ You might be experiencing a sense of overwhelm, which leads to just putting the whole project off. After all, you’ll get to it someday, right?
⇝ You might think, well, I have a Will. It’s a little outdated, but that’s ok right? I have some medical instructions I half-finished awhile ago after attending a free workshop and I know I want to be cremated, how much more can there be?
⇝ Or maybe you recently saw someone you love go through an experience that was utterly chaotic: a death without a Will, a sudden serious medical event that wasn’t ever going to be fatal but meant decisions needed to be made really quickly, with no instructions about what the person might want. You swore to yourself “I won’t ever put anyone in that situation…I need to get my advance care planning done!”
And all that? Well, that probably…
❔ Has you feeling like you can bury your head in the sand and it will just go away (hate to break it to you, it won’t).
or maybe…
❔ You’re thinking that you’re reasonably organized because you have a binder somewhere with a bunch of legal stuff in it. But the thing is, nearly ALL my clients who have some legal documentation completed have a false sense of security invested in those documents. They often don’t understand what’s in them, know exactly where they are, or how they are used in urgent situations. And ALL the time even if legal work has been done, the documents don’t actually include anything to do with beliefs, values and wishes. So they aren’t as helpful as folks think they might be!
And even worse?
❔ You might think that you can’t do this because you don’t have anyone to help you if you were ever ill or incapacitated. You might believe there’s no one you can ask to be your executor, your POA, or your medical advocate.
But you know what? I have seen this over and over. What you’re telling yourself isn’t true!
What if just by joining Prep School and committing to either a little over an hour a week for 5 weeks or buckling down for a bootcamp style weekend you could get your holistic personal planning DONE (and done right)?
I get how hard it can be. This is why I created Prep School.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a big inheritance to leave someone. Or if you have more money than that fella from Amazon! It doesn’t matter if you think you don’t have anyone to appoint as your executor or if you have so many people willing to help you worry you might offend someone by NOT signing them up. It doesn’t even matter if you think you are really organized already.
After all, this isn’t typical estate planning. Typical estate planning takes an often overwhelming and not very intimate “checklist” style approach. By contrast, Prep School’s Holistic Personal Planning program takes an integrated, connected approach designed to get you from overwhelmed to done (and hold you accountable during that time, too!) Prep School will help you connect to your most deeply held beliefs and values, so that you can clearly articulate your wishes in a future that is truly unknowable: but absolutely certain to come.
Our time together will help you connect to what matters most, now and in the end.
Prep School is the key to ensuring you are ready for ANYTHING, at every stage of life.
I did the Prep School Bootcamp and it was a fantastic experience! Christa is a wonderful person who makes the overwhelming process of getting your affairs in order, as it were, into a meaningful and deep reflexive moment. She fosters a positive environment that allows participants to feel comfortable to share things and ask questions. She takes checklists and works with them as prompts that will lead to meaningful reflection that is essential when working through your advance care planning holistically.
—A. Garcia, Prep School alumni (From Brazil!)
Prep School: Fall Cohorts enrolling now!
The time, space, support and community you need to get your personal planning done, and done right.
What can you expect when you sign up for Prep School?
A carefully crafted curriculum…
I am a licensed funeral director, a practicing end-of-life doula, and I have been an educator for many years. I spent 15 years working in higher education and hold a graduate degree in Adult & Higher Education. Curriculum design matters to me, and this carefully designed program will matter to you too.
You’ll have access to a fillable PDF that will guide you through every aspect of the holistic planning process (and if you’re like me and prefer pen-to-paper, you can always print it up, too!)
The live sessions will reflect and reinforce the learnings in the workbook. Your time with each other will also help strengthen your connection to the material. This isn’t a class designed to get you started: it’s designed to get you finished, too!
A schedule that works with yours.
Whether you choose Bootcamp (over a weekend) or Classic Prep School, (over 5 weeks, one evening a week), you’ll find the workload manageable and the “homework” do-able.
Classes are live on zoom, but they are recorded too, in case “life happens” and you need to miss a session.
There’s also an opportunity to attend weekly drop-in “office hours” to get your specific questions answered if you’re ever feeling overwhelmed or need some extra hand-holding (or maybe, you’re just like me and can’t get enough of this stuff!)
A small class size, so you can connect deeply
I keep this program small for a reason. And I do it live (on zoom) for a reason too.
The weekly/accelerated sessions are designed to help you understand the material before you have to attend to it. None of this work is useful if you don’t actually complete it.
By keeping the class sizes small and fostering a caring container for you to get your planning work completed in, you’ll know you’re safe to ask questions and connect with what matters most to you…and to each other.
The chance to tick something off your to-do list!
Listen: I get it. You’ve been meaning to do this forEVER. You might have even picked up a free booklet from the health authority or made an appointment with a lawyer at some point.
But then you stalled out.
Trust me: you’ll feel amazing when you finish this work. You’ll be connected to your own beliefs and values, and you’ll know how to clearly articulate them to others, in case you can’t speak for yourself one day. That kind of certainty feels very powerful indeed.
Sign up now. It’s time to get this done.
Choose from any of the following sessions:
September 20-Oct 18 (5 Wednesdays 7-8:15 pm)
September 26-Oct 24 (5 Tuesdays 7-8:15 pm)
These “classic” sessions are best for folks in BC, Alberta, Washington, Oregon & California (unless you’re a night owl!)
October 21 & 22(10-2, Saturday & Sunday)
November 25 & (10-2, Saturday & Sunday)
These sessions are designed for folks who like to move through projects quickly and the timing works for anyone in all of North America.
All classes are held virtually on Zoom, link will be sent after registration
Please join us.
Invest in your future.
Invest in your connection to what matters.
Invest in the people you love, and the people who love you.
Invest in your true legacy.
And no matter what, invest in not leaving (or creating!) a mess.
$325 & GST
If ANYONE is reading this but needs a payment plan: reach out. Send me an email to hello@deathsapprentice.ca and we will build a payment plan that works just for you.
Your tuition includes all virtual sessions, the comprehensive workbook, email follow-up and ongoing access to “office hours” until your holistic personal planning project is complete!
Here’s what Prep School Alumni have have shared about their experience …
“This is without doubt the most valuable course I have EVER taken. (I have a Ph.D. so I have taken a LOT of courses!). The course is skillfully designed with a fine balance between the pure information content with the more emotional pieces, paced in weekly sessions with time to zero in on homework (not onerous) between classes. ”
“The 5 part course exceeded all my expectations. I have often shelved the idea of thinking of my own death or disability, but Christa’s simplified approach to writing Wills, Representation Agreements, Power of Attorney, and thinking of my own funeral/memorial based on a value driven reflection helped to demystify this often overwhelming paperwork. Rather than being paralyzed by this decision making, Prep School provided opportunities for learning and reflection and then focussed my attention on a step-by-step methodology that had me finishing the course with a much clearer vision of how all of the end of life pieces fit together”
“Being asked to consider circumstances that may arise, such as an unexpected death or an event that would make one unable to make their own medical decision, created an opportunity to ponder what being “alive” means to each of us and in turn to hone in on personal hopes, values and wishes. Taking care of my end of life ‘story’, (although framed in mystery and unknowing), offers me an opportunity to give a gift of enduring love to my family and friends- the people I cherish the most in this lifetime. Thank you, Christa”
I’d love to think that you’re here because you KNOW you need to do this…but just in case you need a little more convincing, read on!
When you do Prep School you’ll learn how to explain your wishes in a way that will ensure they are honoured…
I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating: most folks think this course is about planning for your death. It’s NOT. We’ll cover that, you bet. But this course will help you gain clarity about your own beliefs and values, and allow you to share them in such a way that you can feel confident your wishes for ALL parts of your life will be honoured, even if you can’t speak for yourself at some point (even just temporarily!)
You’ll get a discount for multiple attendees, and exclusive savings with affiliated partners.
Use the code “moreisbettersometimes” to activate a 10% discount on any program registration for 2 or more seats.
I have also curated very special relationships with folks doing good work in this space, and am happy to be able to offer some unique discounts for participants and alumni!
You’ll strengthen relationships…with yourself, with the folks you love most, with me, and with other classmates!
Our time together is really special. There’s really no other way to put it! The words I hear most frequently at the end of our sessions is “relieved” “certain” & “clear”. I would love to have you join me and experience this yourself: I keep this program purposefully intimate—seats are VERY limited.
Please take the leap and join me in Prep School. You’ll be so glad you did.
The Prep School program provided a personalized and guided step-by-step process for addressing the important details related to putting my affairs in order. The combination of work-book, resources, course participants, and, in particular, an incredibly supportive and experienced educator - Christa Ovenell - meant that I was able to accomplish what would normally be an extremely difficult task, within a short period of time and in an engaging and affirming manner. I highly recommend Prep School and Christa Ovenell (the Death's Apprentice)!
—S. Barclay, Prep School Participant
You might be thinking right now “I don’t really need to do this because I’m not rich” or “I already have a Will” or you might have one of these other questions below. Here’s a bit of straight talk to address your worries or concerns:
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The reality is EVERYONE needs to do holistic personal planning. You MAY get sick or become incapacitated one day. But it is 100% certain that you WILL die one day. And without clear instructions for the folks who will be helping you when you can’t help yourself, you are likely to leave a path of frustration at best and total destruction at worst. No matter who you are, and no matter what you “have”, you have voice and autonomy at all stages of life: even end of life!
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This is a really common sentiment. Trust me, you DO have someone you can ask to help you if you ever became ill or injured or incapacitated. And by being willing to “do the work” to provide a clear roadmap of your closest beliefs and values, you’ll actually reduce the burden on folks who will be there to help you when you need it.
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That’s why I made bootcamp! You can get everything you need to complete your holistic personal planning project in ONE weekend. You’ll have some work to do outside of that time, but I will keep you on track and accountable to your deadlines!
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Ok seriously my friend: this is one of the biggest misconceptions around. First of all, if something happens to you, we should assume your spouse will be wrecked. And if they are dealing with that AND also have to deal with answering a bunch of questions they don’t know the answer to, how do you think that is going to go? Finally, unless every single account you have (EVERY one) is a joint account, your spouse has NO access to them if you become incapacitated or when you die, unless you give them that right. This course will help you understand all this, in simple terms and bite-sized pieces.
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Yes, yes, YES. I am a strong ally and have significant experience helping folks in this community. You DO have special concerns and attending to your holistic personal planning is an act of radical self-care.
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I feel you, my friend. Why not check out my 1-1 guidance options? I also do family programs (family is totally self-defined) and seriously, this is some enriching and connecting work. You’ll love the chance to do this on your own or with people YOU select to be in class with you!
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During our time together you will reflect on what works for YOU when it comes to getting your legal decisions documented. For some folks, this means seeing a lawyer. For others, an online Will platform suits perfectly well. In some jurisdictions, like BC, Notary Publics can also draft documents. All of these options come in at varying price points, and there ARE free options too. So yes, there are likely to be some extra costs for the legal documentation pillar of the holistic personal planning process. You can expect to pay between $120-$1200 for this pillar, depending on what works for YOU.
I believe that connection, compassion, and creativity are key to living well. I KNOW that for some of us, aging, illness, and incapacity will be part of our future. And, likely because of my work as a funeral director, I am more connected than many folks to the fact that every single one of us will die one day. It’s for that reason that I want everyone to be able to live in the knowledge that they have everything they need in place to be ready for anything and everything life might throw at them.
My practical curriculum design background coupled with my experience as a funeral director and end-of-life doula ensures that your planning project will be something you can start AND finish.
And besides all that? I can’t wait to meet you, to hear your story, and to become a tiny part of ensuring your real legacy leaves the mark that it should in this world. The folks who come to Prep School are some of the kindest, most caring and connected folks I’ve ever had the chance to meet. I sure hope I’ll get to meet you this fall!