AMEK graphics

05/19/2026

Had a great time at IFDA in Indiana! Thank you for having me as a speaker on the value of embalming and reconstruction! 😃Thank to everyone that came up to me and shared stories of cases that have stuck with you over the years as well. 💕

Love my squad and am so grateful for them! I had to scoot home to my babies, but if you’re still at the convention make sure to stop by the booth tomorrow and Thursday to see and 🤠🤠

05/15/2026

The fingerprint heart ❤️ Without even noticing, this has incidentally become a little trademark of mine with many families I care for. It is such a simple gesture; I take two ink fingerprints in such a way that they form the shape of a heart and then frame them in one of those mini frames from Michael’s craft store. I’ll wrap it up in tissue paper with a small piece of string to make a bow, and present it to families often on the service day, or if I’m going to see them after services.

There are variations of this I have done as well, and it can even made into a ritual within itself. Sometimes, if the deceased individual has siblings that are still children, I will just do their ink print on one side of the heart, and then invite their sibling to do their own print on the other side so that together their two finger fingerprints form the heart shape. It becomes a symbol to remind them that their love is always together.

For this case in particular, it was actually one where I honestly did not think I would successfully get any prints, but I met the adult child several days after doing the transfer and my heart just ached for the sadness and guilt they carried for being away during their parent’s death. I was determined to get them. Sometimes we need a tangible reminder of the love we have for one another on this earth. This serves exactly that. And it is so simple that sometimes I think it is silly, but then I get text messages from my coworkers like this and it reminds me how valuable something so simple can become.



*Disclaimer: The fingerprint heart shown in the image here is one of a family member of mine, and not belonging to the case described above it.

05/13/2026

My Book Nook article for the May issue of American Funeral Director is one I’m especially excited to be sharing - Empty and Me, originally published in Iran.

As Mother’s Day is celebrated in the US, this story feels especially meaningful as it reflects on the loss of a mother AND shows the universality of grief across cultures and languages. It’s a reminder that mothers exist everywhere, and are mourned everywhere when they die.

With ongoing war and genocide across West/Southwest Asia, I think it’s important to remember that children’s books about death and grief exist all over the world, too. And one of my hopes with writing Book Nook is to bring more attention to these lesser known, yet immensely relevant children’s stories about death and grief.

Enjoy! 🌼

05/10/2026

Keeping it real on Mother’s Day over here. I see all you amazing moms in funeral service. You’re not alone. 💕

05/08/2026

Mid-presentation at the Professional Women’s Conference, where I was asked to speak on a specific pediatric reconstruction case and have been immensely grateful and honored to be given this platform to share with my fellow colleagues. 🙌💕

Also - Can you see how happy I am to talk about the empowerment of a first viewing with loved ones and those close to the individual? No, really, we are the professional guides during this experience for many people and recognizing that giving space and time for a family to begin processing the gravity of a death can be immensely helpful and important to consider. Not right before services, when emotions and obligations can feel overwhelming, but in a calm, unhurried setting where their only focus is their loved one and their own grief. And this doesn’t have to only be applied to reconstruction cases, we can give this gift to our families for any person we have the honor to care for…Just something to consider. ❤️

Thank you and for this wonderful opportunity to share with the amazing women I work alongside in the funeral care profession.

05/05/2026

Rooted in deathcare! 🌲🌱 Got an idea for a deathcare illustration you’d like to see me create? Let me know in the comments! It’s about time I start another…😄

04/22/2026

Grateful to have presented for the Nebraska Funeral Directors Association today on post-mortem trauma reconstruction, the value of viewing, creating child-centric services, and heck - that trade reconstructionists are out there ready to help!

This was my sixth out of sixteen (!) speaking engagements I’ve got booked for this year and I just have to say how grateful I am to be given platforms at the district, state, national, and international associations, as well as to for sponsoring me. I’ll be slowing during the summer months, so keep your eyes out for my PayWhatYouCan webinars to make a little comeback then. ☀️

And as always, keep eye an out for my monthly webinars on mortuary color theory, cosmetics, and reconstruction techniques 🙌🎨 Next one is live cosmetic color mixing on Tuesday the 28th!

Thank you! 💖

04/14/2026

Had a wonderful time with Maryland Funeral Directors last week presenting at their annual embalming seminar! ☀️

Embalming with Precision is a 💫new💫 four part program that I’ve built to more thoroughly round out embalming workshops to include the chemistry, techniques, restoration, and cosmetic approaches for a variety of embalming cases we might encounter. MSFDA was the first group I had the honor to present it to this year! A big thank you to everyone that came out to Bowie for it, and to MSFDA’s Executive Director, Andrew Van Dusen, for inviting me out for it!

I was also so happy to present alongside Edwin Jackson of CCBC’s mortuary program - his cultural competency program was wonderful and I hope he takes it to the national stage asap!

Thank you to Frigid Fluid Company for sponsoring me at this event and for Chris Thompson for setting up a booth of goodies for attendees to check out and learn about! 🤩

04/12/2026

If you know, you know. ❤️

This weekend I had the honor of directing my grandfather’s funeral in upstate NY. I will probably speak more on this later with thoughts better collected, but I do want to say how grateful I am for so many stars aligning for his final days and being able to care for him after he passed, along with the support of colleagues, my co-workers & boss, friends, and most importantly my family. ❤️ The whole experience just re-instilled in me my admiration of caring for decedents being shared with their own loved ones. It is a humble feeling of grief fully immersed in love.

PS- I learned my love of Stewart’s from him. 😉
PSS- Don’t worry, the hearse is empty & the people pumping gas next to me were disappointed. LOL.

embalmer

03/25/2026

I had the absolute honor of being asked to write this article for Remembering A Life - one that I wrote and rewrote a dozen or so times and finally submitted to my vulnerability in it. It was with caring for Joe’s body that really drove home how privileged I was to be in the position to care for those we love when they die.

Thank you to anyone that takes the time to read. ❤️

She was the first person I had ever transferred from the medical examiner’s office. A young woman not much older than I, she had been found deceased at a homeless encampment in the woods of Missouri. Her father and sister were already at the funeral home making arrangements as I returned, so I unl...

03/13/2026

Don’t order your new pallbearer gloves on Friday the 13th. 🥴😆

Hehe