Who I Am and Why I Do It

My name is Maggie Stratman. I’m a certified death doula based in Smyrna, Georgia. I help individuals and families navigate the end-of-life process with presence, compassion, and calm. This work is personal to me.

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Like many people, I spent much of my life afraid of death. As a child, I was overwhelmed by the idea that one day the people I loved would be gone. I remember asking my dad to promise he’d wait for me in heaven, afraid I wouldn’t be able to find him.

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Decades later, that memory returned when my dad’s cancer came back—and this time, it was terminal. He passed away in late 2020, and I walked with him every step of the way. What I feared would be unbearable turned out to be one of the most meaningful experiences of my life. Alongside the grief, there was laughter, connection, and an unexpected sense of peace.

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After his death, I began volunteering with a hospice and later became certified as a death doula. I found myself drawn to this work not out of a desire to "fix" what happened to my dad, but to simply be there. To show up. To listen. To walk beside someone in their final season of life and help lighten the emotional load.

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What I Offer

Through my business, Stage Left, I offer non-medical end-of-life support services that are both practical and deeply human. This includes:

• Companionship for individuals in hospice or nearing the end of life

• Respite and emotional support for caregivers

• Legacy and closure work, like helping families record stories or make meaning

• Light household help and errands to keep daily life flowing

• And most importantly: a steady, grounded presence during one of life’s hardest transitions

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My philosophy is simple: even now, there is life to be lived. There are still stories to tell, hands to hold, laughs to be laughed. I’m here to help make space for those moments.

If you or someone you love is approaching the end of life, it would be an honor to walk that path with you.