Sadly, until recently children were often excluded from funerals, something we recognise today as harmful. Christine was only seven when her father died and she will never forget it. But one emotion that loomed large for a long time after was anger – not because Fred had died but because his death was kept a […]
Resources
The ideal vs the real family
I picked up many, many gems of wisdom from North Sydney’s ‘Conversations about Death and Dying’ on Saturday, (May 25, 2019.) It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how much you think you know about a subject there is always so much more to learn.
No more higher motive
“I cannot conceive of any higher or more charitable motive to induce humanity to do its best than that which lends comfort to the last moments of the human being,” Rabbi Davis, 1903 When CEO of St Vincents, Sydney, Associate Professor Anthony Schembri, was working in the hospital’s archives recently, he came across a slender […]
Passing all Understanding
When I started interviewing people about their experiences of death, my selection process was a fairly random one. That was deliberate because I wanted the conversations to reflect life around me as it is in my country, in my time, in my culture – no pretence, no artifice, no filter. Those I spoke with all […]
Saying goodbye with architecture
Nearly 80,000 words later and close to completing my ‘life affirming book about death’, I’m back. With more ideas, challenges and stories of people’s experiences to share, as we talk about death. This is one: what if better architecture makes better goodbyes? Here’s something wonderful – thank you to the UK’s Dying Matters for sharing this […]