We're all nurses — just some of us are registered.

Everybody dies. Let's live first.

Life gives us grief. We can give grace.

If you have ever nursed a wound, a loved one, or yourself back to health, you have nursed. Being registered never replaces permission to care.

We're hospice nurses that left ICU for you. We show you how to celebrate living with Time- not tolerate waiting for Death.

Ready when you are. Start with a free kit, or talk with a nurse.

Get the free kit

What we mean by “The Talk”

The one about how you want to die. Yes, it's the scary one — which is exactly why we'd rather have it early, gently, and with a few laughs.

Walking on eggshells? Let's crack yolks. Life's a big joke.

Most of us walk into dying — our own, or someone we love's — unprepared. Not because we don't care. Because nobody ever showed us how.

How could you've known what you've never been shown?

So we keep it polite. We talk about the weather. We say “you look great.” The person in the bed says “I'm fine” and “I don't want to be a burden.” The family says “we're staying strong for them.” Everyone protects everyone's feelings, and nobody wants to go first. The real stuff gets saved for later — but we only know it was the last time once it's already passed.

Life gives grief. We give Grace.

We're not saying stop fighting. We're talking about a different kind of fight — the fight to be heard, to have “The Talk,” and to make sure every hard conversation starts soft, not harsh.

Now, here is the purpose of this circus

Consider this your permission slip: you don't have to be fearless — just a little brave, a little early. Somebody has to go first. May it be you.

That's why we started Golden Soul Circus:

to celebrate patients' rights, lighten the caregiver's load, and rehearse “The Talk” with you — calmly, kindly, with room to laugh — before “later” becomes an emergency room.

Read our mission →

Start The Talk at your own table: pre-order the deck →

Have The Talk with hospice nurses in the room.

Pre-order the deck

A circus with a purpose.

Founded by Nashville hospice nurses Brad & Cass Burns.

Laughing together on a stone ledge in the woods with a row of crystal singing bowls, seen through an old gilded frame. — a sound bath

Smiling selfie on a tropical beach under palm trees, red hibiscus flowers tucked behind their ears. — on the beach

Dressed up for an evening out and smiling cheek to cheek, in a light blue suit and a dark head wrap. — somewhere off the coast

A goofy holiday moment on the couch: a Santa hat, a book in hand, and mock-serious faces. — a moment with family

Golden Soul Circus was founded by hospice nurses who've sat with hundreds of deaths — the beautiful ones and the devastating ones. A decade in Med-Surg, ICU, float pool, and covid units taught what none of those units had time for: that the dying, and everyone who loves them, deserve to rehearse the goodbye, not just survive it.

Meet the founders →

Work with Brad and Cass directly.

Read their story

Ways in

Start wherever feels lightest. Tap the plus on anything that catches your eye.

FREE · START HERE

Take Me Seriously Kit

Be a patient, not a pushover.

For anyone with an appointment coming up

Get the free kit

Answer a few quick questions on your phone and get a one-page summary to show your doctor: when it started, what it's stopping you from doing, and the one thing you need today.

It also gives you calm, word-for-word replies for the classic brush-offs, and a buddy card for the person coming with you. Your answers stay on your phone.

Once you're heard about your health, the next talk is about your wishes. That's what The Talk Starter Deck is for →

Free. No sign-up. About 5 minutes.

Get the free kit See what's inside

PRE-ORDER

The Talk Starter Deck

Know it. Own it. Say no.

For anyone ready to start The Talk at home

Pre-order

Fifteen hand-painted, handwritten question cards in four element suits: Earth, Water, Fire and Air. Draw one when you're ready to listen deeply, laugh gently, or lean into life's mysteries.

Answer for yourself, ask someone else, or just sit with it. Small enough to actually use: try one suit a night.

For hospital rooms, family dinners, street retreats, grief circles and porch swings.

Save your deck now. Pay when it ships.

Pre-order my deck

FLAGSHIP

Mock UR Funeral

For families & patients ready to say it

Includes the Find Your Words prep guide

A facilitated, three-act experience — Toast, Roast, and Prost — sixty minutes to say what you've been waiting to say, and hear what you've needed to hear. Every booking includes Find Your Words, a guided prep page that helps each guest write their Toast, Roast and Prost before the day. We send it as soon as you book.

See the full Mock UR Funeral page →

Sixty minutes. Three acts. Led by hospice nurses.

See the full show

Home Reiki Cleansing

Clean, Dry and Re-Apply

For homes where caring — or grieving — is happening

A gentle in-home visit to clear the air in the rooms where care happens — the bedroom, the recliner, the kitchen table where the hard news got shared. Reiki, sound bowls, and a little sacred housekeeping.

Clean what's been seen and unseen. Dry what's been soaked through. Re-apply what keeps you well.

The only solution to pollution is dilution.

A gentle in-home visit, sliding-scale pricing.

Palliative PAL

Home Caregiver Training

For family caregivers, friends, volunteers and doulas. No medical background needed.

Join the list

Real hospice skills, taught online by two hospice nurses, at your own pace. Seven short modules, about 6½ hours in all, and every lesson is under 10 minutes, so you can learn a few minutes at a time.

Welcome to the Big Top — how it works, and building your “Know Your Team” page.
Empowered Essentials — moving, bathing and feeding your person safely, with dignity.
Mindful Medicine — keeping a medicine list, the three questions to ask, and what to watch for.
Vital Signs and Vibes — pulse, breathing and home devices, plus reading the person behind the numbers.
Sacred Space and Heavenly Hygiene — clean, dry, re-apply, and a room that feels like theirs.
Soul Care as Self-Care — spotting burnout and refilling your own well.
Walking Each Other Home — a full day of care, start to finish.

Every module ends with practice on your own “Doris” (a pillow works) and a short, untimed Flower Check. Each one earns a petal; six petals complete your flower and unlock your Palliative PAL Certificate of Completion. You also finish with your own Care Binder and a full set of pocket cards.

Sliding-scale pricing, with free seats for family caregivers in need.

Together, we are a nurse.

This is caregiver education. It isn't medical advice, a nursing license, or a professional certification, and it doesn't replace hands-on training from your person's care team.

Be first in line when the course opens.

Get notified when it opens

The Ultimate Sidequest

For festival grounds & public spaces

Mixers & Workshops

For anyone ready to laugh, move, or learn

Give your flowers while you live.

Book a visit, a workshop, or a conversation. Full price funds a subsidized session for a family who needs one.

What happens in a Mock UR Funeral

A guided hour for families to share what usually goes unsaid. Led by hospice nurses. No pressure to speak.

1. Toast — Everyone shares one thing they love about the person. Kind words, out loud, while they can hear them.

2. Roast — A gentle, honest nudge. What do the people who love you most wish you'd do?

3. Prost — The last word. What would you say if you knew it was your last chance?

Bring a photo of the old version of you that you're ready to lay to rest. We'll give it a proper send-off.

Give your people this hour.

See the full show

What happens at a Home Reiki Cleansing

Reiki energy healing mixed with subtle circus-style pomp and circumstance facilitated by sacred and silly psychopomps, a nuanced healing ceremony for any home.

What is Reiki?

Reiki (say it RAY-kee) is a gentle practice from Japan. We rest our hands lightly on you, or just above you, while you relax. Many people tell us it helps them slow down, breathe easier and sleep better. After a loss, that kind of rest can be hard to find.

What is a psychopomp?

A psychopomp (say it SY-ko-pomp) is a guide who helps someone through the passage of death. Cultures all over the world tell stories about them. As hospice nurses, we do this work at the bedside, and we bring the same care to the families who are still here.

What happens during the visit

We sit down together and talk about what feels heavy.
We move through your home, room by room, with Reiki and sound bowls.
We close with a small ceremony to let go of what is ready to leave: grief, old habits or a hard season.

Who comes to your home

We hold Reiki Level 4 mastery. As bedside nurses, we are trained to notice how a room feels and to help it settle.

Reiki is complementary care. It does not replace medical treatment.

Ready to clear the air at home?

Why “The Talk” keeps getting put off

“The Talk” is the conversation about what someone wants near the end of life: comfort, care, who makes decisions, and what matters most.

Most of us were raised to keep the peace. So we say “I'm fine,” don't want to be a burden, and save the hard stuff for later. Later keeps getting shorter.

Doctors often won't bring it up first. That leaves it to you, and it's easier with someone in the room who's done this hundreds of times.

We call the “keep-everyone-happy” habit the “People-Pleasedome.” You're welcome to leave anytime.

You don't have to start it alone.

Pre-order the deck

Not ready for all that?

WHO'S THIS FOR?

HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT IT?

WHAT ARE YOU BOOKING?

CHOOSE YOUR RATE

Pay it forward adds a gift toward a session for a family who can't afford one. Exact pricing is confirmed when we reply.

HOW DO WE REACH YOU?

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NOT READY TO BOOK? START HERE.

The Talk Starter Deck

Fifteen hand-painted, handwritten question cards to help you start The Talk — at the kitchen table, the bedside, or the porch swing.

Know it. Own it. Say no.

EARTH Wave away the Forest of Folded Arms What part of your body do you need to say thank you to — before it quits on you?
WATER Doggy-paddle through the Ocean of Emotion If you had a funeral while you were still alive, what would you want it to feel like?
FIRE All aboard the Hot Mess Express What's the difference between being alive and feeling alive?
AIR Air all grievances in grace Is there something unspoken you want to say to someone you love before you — or they — go?

Pre-order your deck

$26 + shipping · made to order · about 3–4 weeks to your door

First name (optional) Email (required)

HOW MANY DECKS?

ALSO EMAIL ME ABOUT (OPTIONAL) Palliative PAL: Home Caregiver Training, when the online course opens The Openers decks: 25 lighter questions to warm up a room, and two-sided Flip Side cards that double as a wall calendar Q Word Out Loud stories, sound baths and the occasional cosmic joke

Nothing is charged today. When the deck is ready to ship, we'll email you a link to finish your order. Unsubscribe anytime.

Want to help without booking?

Every cup keeps the sound bowls charged and the balloons full. Buy us a coffee

We're all nurses — just some of us are registered.

What we mean by “The Talk”

A circus with a purpose.

Ways in

Take Me Seriously Kit

The Talk Starter Deck

Mock UR Funeral

Home Reiki Cleansing

Palliative PAL

The Ultimate Sidequest

Mixers & Workshops

Give your flowers while you live.

What is Reiki?

What is a psychopomp?

What happens during the visit

Who comes to your home

Thanks. That took courage.

The Talk Starter Deck

Pre-order your deck

Want to help without booking?

A circus with a purpose.

Who we are

Brad

Cass

What we mean by “The Talk”

Keep the circus giving.

Become a sponsor

Kind words

From the circus

We're all nurses — just some of us are registered.

What we mean by “The Talk”

A circus with a purpose.

Ways in

Take Me Seriously Kit

The Talk Starter Deck

Mock UR Funeral

Home Reiki Cleansing

Palliative PAL

The Ultimate Sidequest

Mixers & Workshops

Give your flowers while you live.

Thanks. That took courage.

The Talk Starter Deck

Pre-order your deck

Want to help without booking?

A circus with a purpose.

Who we are

Brad

Cass

What we mean by “The Talk”

Keep the circus giving.

Become a sponsor

Kind words

Did we sit with your family?

From the circus