{"slug":"darnell-lamont-walker","name":"Darnell Lamont Walker","official":"https://www.darnellwalker.com/","hook":"There is still life to live.","deck":"A death doula and children’s television writer on the conversations we postpone, the stories we leave behind, and making room for life while there is time.","bio":"Darnell Lamont Walker is a death doula, Emmy-nominated children’s television writer and author of Never Can Say Goodbye: The Life of a Death Doula and the Art of a Peaceful End. His official biography lists Karma’s World, Work It Out Wombats! and Blue’s Clues & You. In this appearance, Keith and Jon explore his experiences supporting families, preserving stories and making room for what matters now.","topics":["Living fully","Family conversations","Storytelling","Legacy","Priorities","Presence"],"chapters":[{"title":"Planning before a crisis","context":"Darnell describes working with people at different stages of life.","seconds":141.568,"sourceTime":"02:21","sourceBroadcastSeconds":2451.208},{"title":"The hardest part of his own plan","context":"He talks about his son and what he hopes to leave behind.","seconds":285.509,"sourceTime":"04:45","sourceBroadcastSeconds":2595.149},{"title":"Put what matters on the calendar","context":"The hosts connect priorities with how time is used.","seconds":1235.94,"sourceTime":"20:35","sourceBroadcastSeconds":3962.862},{"title":"The work came before the title","context":"Childhood experiences, hospice volunteering and intentional work during COVID.","seconds":1424.481,"sourceTime":"23:44","sourceBroadcastSeconds":4151.403}],"takeaways":["The guest describes conversations about living as part of his work near the end of life.","The friend’s story is Darnell’s personal account.","Storytelling and legacy are central to the work he describes.","The supported credential is Emmy-nominated writer."],"quotes":[{"text":"I love life.","speaker":"Darnell Lamont Walker","context":"His own wish to keep living.","seconds":456.668,"sourceTime":"07:36","cue":"181"},{"text":"He was only 39.","speaker":"Darnell Lamont Walker","context":"His account of the friend who thought he had time.","seconds":913.168,"sourceTime":"15:13","cue":"351"},{"text":"Later may not come","speaker":"Darnell Lamont Walker","context":"Closing discussion about acting on what matters.","seconds":1655.752,"sourceTime":"27:35","cue":"712"}],"sources":[{"label":"Official biography","url":"https://www.darnellwalker.com/"},{"label":"Never Can Say Goodbye","url":"https://www.darnellwalker.com/never-can-say-goodbye"},{"label":"Official practice","url":"https://www.darnellwalker.com/death-doula"}],"date":"2026-10-05","episode":3149,"appearanceId":"3e3eb1867cfc81319faeeb6951f54180","episodeId":"3e1eb1867cfc81608168e01906c874a3","timebase":"Current Library v1 full-cut coordinates: original Center Stage bumper, Sophia opener, interview continuation and farewell. Source broadcast coordinates remain preserved separately.","full":[],"moments":[{"id":"01-more-life","title":"Talking About Death Helps Me Live","hook":"MORE LIFE. LESS FEAR.","story":"Darnell makes clear that he loves life and wants to remain here. Sitting with people near the end of life has made him think harder about how to use his own time. He describes asking clients how they want to live the time they have left.","context":"Darnell makes clear that he loves life and wants to remain here. Sitting with people near the end of life has made him think harder about how to use his own time. He describes asking clients how they want to live the time they have left.","seconds":447.007,"sourceTime":"07:27","post":"Talking about death has made me want to live more.\n\nI don't want to leave this place. I love life. Being around people at the end of theirs hasn't changed that.\n\nWhat it has changed is the way I look at the time I have.\n\nWhen I sit with someone who is dying, the conversation is also about living: How do you want to live the rest of this time? What matters to you? What can we still make possible?\n\nTheir stories make me look at my own life. Some show me what I want to move toward. Others show me what I don't want to leave unfinished.\n\nI spoke with Keith and Jon on Mornings in the Lab about why these conversations can help us live more fully while we're here.\n\nWatch the clip. Then ask yourself: What would you make room for this week if you stopped assuming it could wait?","assets":[],"covers":[{"filename":"more-life-horizontal.jpg","url":"/guest-packages/darnell-lamont-walker/more-life-horizontal.jpg","bytes":169026,"sha256":"e6561ef615a5545239ff5a4e0e4b319ca6a38c71861d59150f3ea14fb4605db4","dimensions":[960,540],"approval":"Approved illustrated artwork"},{"filename":"more-life-vertical.jpg","url":"/guest-packages/darnell-lamont-walker/more-life-vertical.jpg","bytes":339824,"sha256":"57eb1e7f747a82e0347a41764b10688954af651c97f59cc3867bcd48c170da87","dimensions":[960,1706],"approval":"Approved illustrated artwork"}],"sourceBroadcastSeconds":2756.647,"nativeDownloads":[{"filename":"darnell-01-more-life-horizontal-NATIVE-1080-PRIVATE-REVIEW.mp4","bytes":47835402,"dimensions":[1920,1080]},{"filename":"darnell-01-more-life-vertical-NATIVE-1080-PRIVATE-REVIEW.mp4","bytes":27614240,"dimensions":[1080,1920]}]},{"id":"02-no-later","title":"He Thought He Had More Time","hook":"THERE IS NO LATER","story":"Darnell remembers a musician friend who had pursued things he thought his grandmother wanted. In Darnell’s account, the friend later learned that she had wanted him to live his own life. Keep the memory attributed to Darnell; the illustration does not document this friend or the events.","context":"Darnell remembers a musician friend who had pursued things he thought his grandmother wanted. In Darnell’s account, the friend later learned that she had wanted him to live his own life. Keep the memory attributed to Darnell; the illustration does not document this friend or the events.","seconds":858.516,"sourceTime":"14:18","post":"My friend was 39. He thought he had time.\n\nWe had been friends for 20 years. He was an incredible musician, one of those people you imagine growing old with.\n\nNear the end of his life, I asked whether he'd done everything he wanted to do.\n\nHe told me he'd spent years pursuing things he thought his grandmother wanted for him. When she was dying, she told him she hadn't wanted those things. She'd wanted him to live his life.\n\nNow he was dying a few years later, and he hadn't gotten around to it.\n\nHe asked me to make sure his nephews didn't do the same thing. I told him I would do my best.\n\nI shared that conversation with Keith and Jon on Mornings in the Lab because I keep coming back to the same question: What are we postponing because we assume there will be more time?\n\nWatch the clip. If something important came to mind, give it some room now.","assets":[],"covers":[{"filename":"no-later-horizontal.jpg","url":"/guest-packages/darnell-lamont-walker/no-later-horizontal.jpg","bytes":153210,"sha256":"8a02a5d0f030f89ab68e1ff0d86b30c90d93d663f6260829e16e5121ec134396","dimensions":[960,540],"approval":"Approved illustrated artwork"},{"filename":"no-later-vertical.jpg","url":"/guest-packages/darnell-lamont-walker/no-later-vertical.jpg","bytes":367854,"sha256":"fbc251c95eb2650d7d8ed2d494ab97fd88111906c942b06436ba365954c978e5","dimensions":[960,1706],"approval":"Approved illustrated artwork"}],"sourceBroadcastSeconds":3168.156,"nativeDownloads":[{"filename":"darnell-02-no-later-horizontal-NATIVE-1080-PRIVATE-REVIEW.mp4","bytes":42837630,"dimensions":[1920,1080]},{"filename":"darnell-02-no-later-vertical-NATIVE-1080-PRIVATE-REVIEW.mp4","bytes":24936747,"dimensions":[1080,1920]}]}],"fullPost":"I was helping people at the end of their lives long before I knew the words “death doula.”\n\nMy grandmother talked with me about death when other people in my family didn't. When I was 12, a cousin came home to die, and I was there with her as she cared for him.\n\nThe next year, I volunteered at a hospice. Sometimes the work was simply sitting with someone so they wouldn't be alone.\n\nYears later, a friend who worked in hospice told me that what I had been doing sounded like death-doula work. I looked it up and recognized the work I'd been doing since childhood.\n\nDuring COVID, I saw how lonely people had become. I began approaching the work more intentionally, helping people tell their stories, preserve what mattered, and find someone who could be present with them.\n\nIn my full conversation with Keith and Jon on Mornings in the Lab, we talked about that path, my writing for children, Never Can Say Goodbye, and the conversations families can have before they are forced to guess.\n\nWatch the full conversation. There is room to talk about the end and still make more room for life.","gates":[],"faqs":[{"question":"Who is Darnell Lamont Walker?","answer":"Darnell Lamont Walker is a death doula, Emmy-nominated children’s television writer and author of Never Can Say Goodbye: The Life of a Death Doula and the Art of a Peaceful End. His official biography lists Karma’s World, Work It Out Wombats! and Blue’s Clues & You. In this appearance, Keith and Jon explore his experiences supporting families, preserving stories and making room for what matters now."},{"question":"What does this conversation explore?","answer":"A death doula and children’s television writer on the conversations we postpone, the stories we leave behind, and making room for life while there is time."},{"question":"When did this appearance air?","answer":"2026-10-05, in episode #3149, with Keith Bilous and Jon Andersen."},{"question":"Are the clips live?","answer":"These are recorded highlights. The vertical frame’s LIVE and airtime text promote the recurring show."},{"question":"What can I download?","answer":"The full interview is available as a low-bandwidth review and a 720p download. All four H/V highlight videos and four dedicated H/V story covers are separately downloadable. Approval states remain individual."},{"question":"Where can I learn more?","answer":"Use the guest’s official sources linked beside the biography."},{"question":"Is Darnell an Emmy winner?","answer":"His supported description is Emmy-nominated writer."}],"fullThumbnail":{"filename":"darnell-full-interview.jpg","url":"/guest-packages/darnell-lamont-walker/darnell-full-interview.jpg","bytes":407032,"sha256":"7777e04fb5178041d129890d2ce4d80186045daf93e63796053d0e27abbc42dc","dimensions":[1920,1080],"approval":"Approved illustrated artwork"},"youtubeVideoId":"gYq5IaYJ2HQ","youtubeStatus":"","canonicalUrl":"https://mornings.network/shows/center-stage/guests/darnell-lamont-walker"}