Ama's Oh Sh*t List

May 31, 2026

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Hey friends,

If you’ve seen me talk about Mōmento Mori before, welcome back. And if this is your first time here, welcome in. This is not just a reboot of a course I tried to sell before. This is a clearer direction for the work: to share, teach, include, and help people prepare for life’s “oh sh*t” moments with more love and less chaos. Mōmento Mori is becoming a home for practical just-in-case planning: the conversations, questions, and small steps that help your people know what to do if life suddenly gets loud.

Most of us have an emergency contact listed somewhere. At the doctor’s office. On a school form. At work. In a phone setting we filled out once and forgot about. But here’s the thing: your emergency contact is not a plan. It’s a name. And if something actually happened, that person may be scared, overwhelmed, and trying to help you while guessing what to do next.

Here’s the question for this week:

If your emergency contact got “the call” today, would they know what to do next, or would they only know that they love you?

Here’s what your emergency contact actually needs to know:

• Who to call first. Not everybody needs the first call. Some people are calm in a crisis. Some people spiral. Your emergency contact should know who can help stabilize the situation, not just who loves you the loudest.
• Who to wait to call. This sounds harsh, but it is not. Some loved ones need information before they get contacted. If your mom, partner, sibling, or best friend needs a clear update instead of a panic call, write that down.
• What they need to access. Can they get into your phone? Do they know where your spare key is? Could they find your ID, charger, medication, wallet, or important documents if you could not tell them?
• Who depends on you. Kids, pets, elders, clients, roommates, plants with emotional attachment issues. Whoever or whatever needs care if you cannot get home should not be left as a surprise.
• What to do in the first few hours. Your emergency contact does not need your entire life story. They need the first few right steps: who to call, what to grab, where to go, and who needs care.

This week, text your emergency contact and ask: “If I had an emergency and needed you to step in, what would you want or need to know?”

That one question can show you exactly where to begin.

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Need help getting started? Check out our guides below to help you emergency-proof your life one small step at a time. 👇👇👇​
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