This article was updated on 24 March, 2023. It discusses the death of my dear brother Julian in a motorbike accident. A conversation with friends took me to a well the other day. We were walking in the Sydney sunshine along Bungaree’s Walkway at Middle Head, a natural pathway with … Read more
So what does Australia Day have to do with Good Grief, a page which is about grief and palliative care? A lot really. When the hurts of the past are denied, the past can’t be put to rest. Australians celebrate our national day today, January 26, when Captain Arthur Phillip … Read more
Hey Julian, A lot has happened since you left. For a start, your children have grown up beautifully. You’d be so proud of them, all such characters. Dad bellowed at us: “There’ll be no more out of order deaths in this family!” He had talked of leaving to be with … Read more
That’s a full stop – a red stop sign with angled corners and a white line around it. Resting here, my knees have buckled, in front of that sign you planted in my path. I have walked this space so confidently, happy to share what I know, to muck in. … Read more
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
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
Today a Mexican Cross to remember Chris by, because later this morning, Sydney time, his family who are dear to my heart will bury him. They are a large Catholic family just like the one I grew up in and now he, one of the six siblings, is gone. If … Read more
“Have you been around during the last months of someone’s life, either a friend or a relative?”
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
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
Pauline looked as though she was just doing the ordinary things: just getting on with it because, as she said, you’ve got no choice. But she was being absolutely extraordinary.
Spiritual experiences around the time of death can be very powerful. Sometimes these alert others that someone they love has died. My friend Carolyn Parfitt shares a story that is a good example of this. “My husband and I were away camping in Kakadu National Park and we were out … Read more
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.
The Grieve Project is great because everyone who participates is a winner. When your reader connects with something you’ve said, something powerful is shared. But the best thing is, even if no-one else ever sees it, when we write about our grief, it’s easier to understand. When we write our … Read more
My colleague and neighbour Andrew Casey was buried today, after a beautiful Jewish funeral service. His brother John observed that he still had his mop of rich brown hair – but lamented that he wished Andrew had lived long enough to go grey. Simple wisdoms flowed from the Old Testament, … Read more