Empowerment

Play School helps with stories about beginnings and endings.

Play School: Beginnings and Endings - courtesy Play School ABC

This morning Play School did something very special. It had an episode about new life and end of life. Emma, one of the presenters explained to an earlier television news audience that the team sought the guidance of experts on managing grief in children. Children deal with death in a … Read more

When the grief of a child is denied.

Why did Dad leave without saying goodbye?

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 … Read more

Jane and Richard talk about the last few months of life

“Have you been around during the last months of someone’s life, either a friend or a relative?”

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. … Read more

Do you want to live for 1000 years?

Do you want to live for a thousand years?

It’s all about the radio today. Aubrey de Grey is a researcher who believes the first human being who will live for 1000 years has already been born. This morning I was reminded of de Grey when ABC radio interviewer Cassie McCullagh interviewed Professor John Rasko. Tonight, Professor Rasko will … Read more

Stephen lives on

Stephen's Grandchildren

This week my friend Ellen’s deceased brother’s second grandchild was born. This little person was not just the physical expression of Stephen but there was something of his soul present as well. I felt the connection to Stephen even more strongly than the first time.

Conversation with Jenny Briscoe-Hough about death

Jenny Briscoe-Hough - courtesy Conversations ABC

When Jenny Briscoe-Hough brought back the idea to her Port Kembla community centre of starting their own not-for-profit funeral service, the idea resonated.She’d wondered whether the loyal stalwarts who attended the centre, seeking support and succour, would be offended. But she was overwhelmed by the way they embraced it. “I … Read more