We’re shouting out about ‘A Community Undertaking’, featuring a great innovation in funerals on ABC’s Australian Story tomorrow night. One of our first discoveries when we started Good Grief! was Tender Funerals of Port Kembla. It’s raw, rich and true to community. And this refreshing way of managing funerals is … Read more
The Mary’s House Safe Place sign is not overly conspicuous, floating as it does on the glass-front of the supermarket deli shelf in front of the cheeses and olives. “Do you feel safe at home? If not, help is available in this store. Approach the Customer Service Desk and ask … Read more
A story we shared about the Sacred Heart Biography Service is very popular. Now we’re excited a TV program has been made about the service. Writers from the team help people who are dying to put their life into a story, something that can have a really powerful impact. Sometimes … Read more
Picaluna Funerals does things differently and Good Grief! loves this. It’s great when you get to talk with others in the ‘death’ space working to improve our culture’s approach. Last month I was invited by Picaluna CEO Greg Inglis to speak to 22 Picaluna inductee funeral celebrants about Good Grief! … Read more
We have the impression we’re ‘not allowed’ to care for someone who’s dying at home. But why? Hands on home palliative care worker, Kellie Cooper-Smith challenges this and talks through the practical issues in her article below. Kellie and I have also created a set of practical videos about caring … Read more
by Olivia Loukas Legacy writing – also known as biography or life writing – is a way of documenting someone’s life story, in their own words, before they die. It can take various forms and is, by its nature, a deeply personal and spiritual process. Our article about the legacy … Read more
After three decades working at Wollongong City Council’s memorial gardens and cemeteries, Operations Manager John Chilby has told the Illawarra Mercury he’s lost count of the times he’s seen families broken by misunderstandings when someone dies. “It causes more grief and break-ups between families, so we want to try and … Read more
Our little team here at Good Grief! is over the moon! The mission of Good Grief! is to provide articles, newsletters, resources, and workshops for grief management & end of life discussion and we’ve just improved the way we do it. Cynthia, our graphic designer, has added the finishing touches to … Read more
Bianka Eifler, Bereavement Coordinator and Counsellor at the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, is looking forward to supporting people from everywhere – not just Wollongong – as they ask questions about grief, when she’s a guest speaker at Wollongong’s free event, “Conversations around Death and Dying”. It’s a discussion and … Read more
It’s great to be doing live events again! People ask so many interesting questions. “Is a will a legal document?” someone asked the last time I stood on a podium, just before Covid-19 hit. The lawyers in the room were surprised. For them it was ‘Legal Studies – 101.’ But … Read more
By Julia Grieves. In the wake of COP26 and widespread critique around the extent of its latest pledges, many Australians join others around the world in feeling increasingly disturbed by alarming predictions of future climate crisis. Climate grief, also known as ecological grief, has been defined as the grief felt … Read more
Sometimes there’s an overlap between Good Grief! and the other newspaper articles I write and today’s story published in The Daily Telegraph, Mosman Daily, North Shore Times and The Wentworth Courier is a good example. Behind every dying person there’s usually at least one dedicated carer – often a whole … Read more
If I had been given just some notice that suddenly one night my sex drive would be switched off, I would have made sure I enjoyed some last hurrahs. I was just forty-one when I experienced menopause. I had relatively few symptoms to warn me and those I had, I … Read more
Historically, Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their communities haven’t been appropriately supported when it comes to managing their experiences of grief over their life experiences – often ones of suffering at the hands of the non-Indigenous. SASCHA COSTIGAN shares the story of Red Dust Healing, a program achieving … Read more
You’ve read the online comments on your bereavement post, noted the care emojis, the likes and read all the messages. You’ve even shared photos and videos with family and friends. But all that fades and soon, it’s just you and the screen and the desire to scroll. My advice is … Read more