In this occasional series Lyndey Milan, Australian cooking and media personality, shares ‘Comfort Food for Grief’ – wholesome ideas for special foods to comfort you or those you love, during difficult emotional times. When we met it was immediately clear there was a strong connection between our missions. Lyndey is passionate … Read more
Don’t forget the Living with Grief seminar on Saturday, September 10, 2022. This is open to everybody – although we do ask you to register. (See details below.) I’m the facilitator and it’s been organised by the Calvary Bereavement Counselling Service, Kogarah. Good Grief! has been digging away, learning more … Read more
For all the advances in medical technology we still have a need to attend funerals and services, setting aside human knowledge and replacing it with the wisdom of the earth.
This article has been updated on August 4, 2022. Often people come to professional grief work in response to the death of someone they love. But in a strange and horrible reversal of that, Susan Marcuccio’s experience has been the reverse. After establishing a reputation for her work in chaplaincy, … Read more
Recently my article on death etiquette in the age of Instagram appeared in Australia’s Body and Soul. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to share ideas in that forum. Thank you to the team at Body and Soul for running it – and valuing the topic of ‘death etiquette’. I … Read more
This article was updated on 27 July, 2022. It’s close to two and a half years since the World Health Organisation declared a global pandemic and grief is still hitting us and loved ones are still dying. The latest Australian Covid statistics from the ABC are here. We have gone … Read more
This article was updated on 26 July, 2022. The first step to prepare for a good death is to find out more about death. We learn: Next, we prepare for our own end. To do this we: For more discussion about these 11 steps, see:A Good Death – a compassionate … Read more
Here I am, leaning in with Yvonne Weldon at her Gleebook event last night where she shared the story behind her debut novel Sixty Seven Days. It’s a story about love and loss and it’s set in the heart of Yvonne’s proud Wiradjuri heritage. Yvonne is a First Nations Australian. … Read more
“Violet is a place you can turn to for help in navigating the last stage of life,” explains The Violet Initiative CEO, Melissa Reader. It aims to help the people around the person who is dying, to help them to become resilient and to live with fewer regrets about the … Read more
Russia, bombs will not win Ukraine. They might bring a short-term victory. But Ukraine will resist – with growing and longterm support from everyday people around the globe. Once these people would not have mattered. But the world is now more connected, so individuals everywhere can energise a cause. People … Read more
This story first appeared in the June 16, 2022 issue of our Good Grief! newsletter. What is pharmacy’s role in improving palliative care? A vital one, according to those who know. We’ve talked a lot in these pages about the need to improve access to palliative care and a 2022 … Read more
When my friend Angela’s mother died, the nursing home handled its communication around this very badly. This, despite a lot of rhetoric about caring. But her’s is just one of many similar stories I’ve listened to, about death badly handled in a range of settings, in our culture today. Yes, … Read more
In our family today we celebrate a new life once again. And I am reminded of Rabbi Alvin Fine – yes, again. You can’t reach the age I am now without feeling birth and death’s endless yet uplifting cycle. What joys await my latest grandchild? What sorrows? I don’t wish … Read more
It’s been two years since the first Covid-19 restrictions were announced in Australia and nowhere felt it harder than Melbourne, which faced the longest lockdowns globally. Melbourne’s experience has been unique in Australia and Melbournians are wanting to share what they have endured, and the losses needing to be grieved. … Read more
Grief is a mentor to successful surgeon and author Dr Richard A Harris, who lost his wife, Tine, to breast cancer two years ago. He’s a man who’s learnt to manage grief but there are other aspects to his life as well. He is a successful vascular surgeon, and has … Read more
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