Living with dying

Louise Dillon's son died from an aggressive form of leukemia just after his 14 th  birthday.  Her own experience of how difficult it was returning to work, prompted her to offer training to businesses on how best to support grieving employees and how to give the bereaved a voice in how they'd like things to go.

Peter Cooper got in touch after listening to  episode 27 featuring his mother talking about the death of his father.  He mentioned that he felt there had been unacknowledged grief underlying his childhood and how it has left him unsure if he 'does' grief well.  We explore that together here.

Pippa and Grace were only 16 when their fathers died.  They didn't know each other at the time but met through the counselling offered by Thames Hospice and have since become firm friends.  Together they're passionate about raising money for the hospice so that others can receive the same care and help they value so highly.

Baroness Glenys Kinnock and Lord Neil Kinnock were together for 60 years - the most high profile political couple of their generation.  "It is like losing a limb" says Neil. "Glenys suffered and died of Alzheimer's in 2023 and the only real relief of Alzheimer's is that people slip away. They almost give you a rehearsal in loss.  It does mean that you suffer a real death and years before that a so...

NOT talking about death and dying is 'a profound act of societal self-harm' says Toby Porter CEO of HospiceUK. We mark Dying Matters Awareness Week by talking to him about why we don't talk about it more, about hospice care, assisted dying and the recent loss of his mother.    

For Easter week, we're talking to the Reverend Sally Lynch about the Christian Church's approach to death and dying and the significance of Easter in the Church of England.

This is to mark Sudden Death Awareness Month in March.   Lucy Potter's 2 year old son Gibson didn't wake up one morning. She bravely, and eloquently describes here the horror of trying to administer CPR, of accompanying him in an ambulance, and of willing him to live while watching in stunned disbelief as medics tried and failed to revive him.          

Ginny Daly had to experience the heart-breaking ordeal of giving birth to her baby boy knowing that he'd died in the womb.  She talks openly of that nightmare, and how, years later, her mother's death exposed her to a completely different kind of grief.

Suicide is often described as cruel. This is not what our latest guest Fiona Duffy thinks. She describes here how her experience of suffering losses, including her brother to suicide, inspired her to go into the Funeral Care Business with the Co-op.

Mark Shepherd  performs an extraordinary service for the parents of babies who are still born, or who die soon after birth.  He visits them soon after their loss to take professional photos of their babies for a charity called RememberMyBaby. He tells us here how he got into this amazing work.        

Natasha's Foundation is launching a new campaign to provide education about allergies to children in primary schools around the country.  The foundation is named in memory of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse who suffered a fatal anaphylactic reaction in 2016 on her way to a holiday in France with her father and best friend.  She'd unwittingly eaten a baguette containing sesame seed bought at the airport.  ...

Gini Hackett, founder of @BucketListWishesUK, believes that encouraging her Mother to put together a bucket list helped prolong her life from the projected 3 months to 11, and describes some of the fun things they did together during that time

What to do when someone dies?  And how to find a funeral director who's going to respect our wishes and look after our loved one?  Most of us don't do any research before,  so we flounder around and pick the nearest, or the one we've heard of.   Rebecca Peach founded The Farewell Guide to address this.

As Christmas approaches, this can be such a difficult time for anyone who's bereaved.  Rachel Tegg of Child Bereavement Uk shares her experience of helping families with approaching any festive season and passes on advice she's gleaned.

We mark National Grief Awareness Week with a look behind the scenes at Mortlake Crematorium and find out exactly what happens to our loved ones' bodies once we say goodbye.        

How to talk to the dying? What to say? How to broach the subject...?   Advice here from Pastoral Care worker Catherine Beer.

Actress Wendy Craig shares what happened when her husband of 40 years - Jack Bentley - died of cancer, and how she picked up the pieces and made a good life for herself over the 30 following years.

This week's guest - Carolyn Mayling - has an amazing story of life and death. The death of her 11 year old daughter, followed some years later by the birth of a new baby when she was 54.   She's managed to rebuild a really fulfilling and worthwhile life after loss - as she describes in this conversation.

During Baby Loss Awareness week we ask what on earth to say to people who've lost a pregnancy or a baby - at whatever stage.  Di Stubbs of Child Bereavement UK says don't say 'Just call me - anytime'. Instead phone with questions like 'I'm in Sainsbury's can I pick anything up for you' or 'I've only got half a load of washing can I do yours', or 'I'm taking my kids to the park can I take yours? So...

Things not to say to the bereaved:  'Think of all the memories', 'You were lucky to have him', 'She wouldn't want you to cry' - Shobha Modi shares her advice and talks about the Hindu approach to death and dying

People widowed young often struggle to find anyone who remotely understands which leaves them isolated and alone - which is where WAY (Widowed and Young) steps in.  Veronica Currie explains.

Have you got a will?  66 percent of people in the UK don't according to Solicitor Sophie Hamilton who thinks it's sad that people often leave it too late

Khalad Hussein explains the Muslim approach to death and dying and how Muslims believe that their  'time is written'

Nula Suchet's life changed dramatically when her husband James developed Dementia at the young age of 57.  She describes in detail his decline and death, but also tells an uplifting story of rebuilding her life afterwards and marrying broadcaster John Suchet

Rachel Tegg of Child Bereavement UK describes how play can help bereaved children express themselves - and how they offer help to bereaved parents and families as well.