family-and-children

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

Remembering mothers today

A photo of my mother just with me – something very rare. It’s Mother’s Day in Australia – a chance to reflect on all the lovely mothers who have gone before us. I’m loving seeing my friends tributes splashed across social media. I love especially the photos of women taken … Read more

I’m not going

Traecey was in a car accident when she was in her early twenties and nearly died. She spent many long days in the intensive care unit, fighting for her life. One day Traecey was unconscious and delirious. She told her mother, Pat that her Auntie Bonnie had been to visit. … Read more

Tributes to Parents

John Faine, then of ABC Melbourne, interviewed Susan Wyndham, Margaret Rice and Chris Hall on 24 October, 2013. That interview is just as relevant today as it was back then. Today I planted cuttings from my father’s garden to remind me of him. I had taken them from his garden … Read more