This spring, I lost my best friend, Irene. After a long and courageous journey with cancer, she made the brave decision last fall to stop treatment and simply livewith whatever time she had left. She did just that — living fully, intentionally, and surrounded by love until her passing just a few weeks ago.

Irene wasn’t just my best friend — she was my inspiration. I met her when I was 19, and our lives have been interwoven ever since. She was by my side during one of the most intense moments of my life — when I went into early premature labor with my first baby, a birth that eventually led to a cesarean. Long before anyone really talked about “doulas,” Irene was my doula. She was present, supportive, steady — everything a doula should be.