Lesley James

Lesley James is a compassionate end of life planner, educator, and founder of Last Wishes Consulting. Based on life's challenges and personal experiences with loss and grief, she dedicated time to contemplating her hopes, fears, beliefs and priorities around life and death. Lesley discovered meaning by answering the call to serve and support others, while helping to normalize the conversations around mortality and our finite lives.

Since the spring of 2020, Lesley became an end of life doula and completed courses in hospice, palliative care, advance care planning, legacy, green burials, death, dying, grief and funeral pre-planning. Becoming an entrepreneur in a pandemic was a huge shift from working for a global leader in healthcare for almost 30 years.

She is excited to become a published author in May 2021 by collaborating on “Bold Spirit Caring For The Dying”. Writing Chapter 4, which she named “Serenity and Mindfulness”, was an incredibly healing part of her grief journey on caregiving for a loved one at the end of life. Lesley currently works and volunteers in the bereavement sector and found writing to be a welcome form of expressive arts therapy.

Since her diagnosis in 2000, Lesley has been living with Addison’s Disease, a rare auto-immune disease. Grief of a different kind, loss of health, impacted her both personally and professionally. As an ally to the disability community, she is an advocate for assisting people living with invisible and life-limiting illnesses.

Love, wisdom and comfort are Lesley's core values which guide her in actions. She has a strong desire to bring education, active listening and peace of mind to end-of-life planning conversations. Lesley is also a Licensed Willow EOL Educator™, and thrilled to be one of the first in Ontario.

A Jamaican-born Canadian, Lesley has been a resident of Markham, Ontario since 1999, and is proud of her wonderful adult daughter and son.

@lastwishesconsulting

https://linktr.ee/LastWishesConsulting

lastwishesconsulting.ca

lastwishesconsulting@gmail.com