At a Loss - It’s life and death

How to die naturally.

Carol McAllum is the doctor you meet when recovery isn’t possible. She shares thoughts, wisdom and wonder in all she has learnt about life and death. Death can be messy, but it can also be natural, here’s how.

Do tell the children

Sarah’s kids know Mum works with the dead. Because she tells them her work stories. In her old job nursing the dying, she told them all about that too. Sarah says, please talk to kids about death. Here she tells you how.

Would you live in a graveyard?
Sheree Stout does. Her family home sits inside Auckland’s largest cemetery, where she leads a small team caring for thousands. Between running a busy crematorium, three funeral chapels, and a vast public park, Sheree is relentlessly practical, and deeply devoted to the place she lives and works in. She doesn’t see a graveyard as a place to fear, but one to understand, respect, and even love.

“Reclaiming death as a community experience. It’s a normal experience” is the mission motivating Trish Fleming, Community Engagement Lead at Hospice West Auckland.

She tells host, funeral celebrant, Timothy Giles, death is happening everywhere in our community; 85% of the time hospice care is in people’s chosen environments, mostly at home. With a 50/50 split of patients are under and over 65.

Trish wants you to engage with hospice and death “Get curious” she says “walk into your local hospice and say ‘hi’”.  Start easily and listen to Trish share stories of the work she loves, building a caring, death-capable community.

 

Disclaimer: All political opinions expressed are Timothy Giles’ alone and do not reflect those of Hospice West or Trish Fleming.

By deciding now, where your earthly remains will reside after death. Yo save those who love you from lots of stress and potential trauma. Sheree Stout is responsible for more than 60 Cemeteries and multiple crematoriums in Auckland.

She has seen all the stress, trauma, bad graveside behaviour and the clam and comfort that a simple conversation can create instead. A conversation, like this one.