About
Belinda Enriquez-Sanchez, MA is the founder and owner of Sacred Roads LLC. Belinda completed her undergraduate studies in psychology at Western Michigan University and received a graduate degree in psychotherapy and psychology from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Following graduation, Belinda continued in the elder care sector within the communities of Boulder County. Thank you to Tarron Estes and the Conscious Dying Institute, Belinda received her death doula training within the year post graduation. Having moved to St. Louis, Missouri, Belinda obtained her funeral director's license while working at Baue Funeral Homes. Obtaining licensure served as the last foundational step towards the culmination of this profound heart passion. With acknowledgement and gratitude for the gained direct experience, Belinda left the funeral home to dedicate her efforts to piece it all together. Ultimately, Sacred Roads LLC was decades in the making and launched in 2024.
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When not with a family or helping at a friend's local restaurant, Belinda lives to be outdoors and on a mountain, whenever possible. She thrives on music in all forms, concerts and festivals, planetariums and open skies, travel, road trips, camping, hiking, backpacking, nature photography, disc golf, reading for pleasure (even better if a hammock is involved), and melting into the latest film at the theatre. Leading more of a nomadic life and not always sure of the next destination, Belinda cherishes the time she is able to be with family, friends, and her feline boy, León. She is a fond advocate and supporter of mental health and veteran assistance. Belinda's PSA of choice: Check on your people.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D.
(July 8, 1926 – August 24, 2004)
“There is a time in a patient’s life when the pain ceases to be, when the mind slips off into a dreamless state, when the need for food becomes minimal and the awareness of the environment all but disappears into darkness. This is the time when the relatives walk up and down the hospital hallways, tormented by the waiting, not knowing if they should leave to attend the living or stay to be around for the moment of death. This is the time when it is too late for words, and yet the time when the relatives cry the loudest for help – without words…. It is the hardest time for the next of kin as he either wishes to take off, to get it over with; or he desperately clings to something that he is in the process of losing forever.”
(From On Death and Dying, 1969)
“Loving and grieving are joined at the hip, for all the beauty, soul, and travail that brings. Grief is a way of loving what has slipped from view. Love is a way of grieving that which has not yet done so. We would do well to say this aloud for many days, to help get it learned: Grief is a way of loving, love is a way of grieving. They need each other in order to be themselves.”
Stephen Jenkinson
The Story
From a very young age, one of my first core memories, vividly, centers around death and grief with the death of our oldest brother, Victor. Naturally, as was the entire family, I was fundamentally changed moving forward at the, then, age of three. At that point, it was impossible to be aware of the full scope of the impact. I have been attuned to a philosophical curiosity regarding the nature of existence, life, and death ever since that I cannot shake. The lens with which I view and approach the world is firmly rooted in a sense of deep spirituality. Fast forward to 2017, before my final year of graduate school. I was able to be with my maternal grandfather, Vicente, during the last ten days of his life. That time was monumental on multiple levels. Being with our grandfather and family at his death was the pivotal experience that ignited my focus towards death care work.
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Having spent that time with Vicente in our hometown in Mexico, I knew traditional death care would be the realm of work for me once finished with the graduate program. From the home funerals to the sense of community that arises and steps up during times of death in the Michoacán culture, I connected with that approach to honoring our people. Seeing how a community can be shook me. Witnessing how death and dying can be reinforced the general need for that type of honesty, connection, and awareness in the States. In the truest sense, I felt the purpose down to my bones to help in how we relate to and face the inescapable. Historically, home funerals and home care were a natural part of living. It can be that way again today for those that welcome it. With deep love for my culture and lessons from vast personal loss throughout the years, I aim to bring death care back to its sacred roots. It takes a village to raise someone. It is no different in death and dying.
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Personally, it is an ultimate honor to serve in someone's last moments -- including before, during, and post death. As an overarching mission, I want to help relate to death with less fear. The ability to accept each of our realities with grace and in community can enable society to live with a richer sense of ease, instead of merely locked within that fear. That is the intention for helping you have as good of a death as possible. Let us change how we approach these irreplaceable times for more sacred deaths. Let us prioritize how we care for one another in our death phobic culture. It all begins with a conversation. Before you are left feeling overwhelmed, allow me to help facilitate these conversations and beyond for the best collaborative care possible. You do not need to navigate these roads alone.
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~Belinda