Living with dying

What happens when we die? What is it like to die?  Today we tackle this last taboo and try to de-mystify what it is like when someone dies. We're guided by Kathryn Gilbert, Nurse Consultant at Thames Hospice.

Why do we find it so hard to use the correct language around death and dying? Instead, hedging it about with all kinds of euphemisms?  I talk to Catherine Beer, Pastoral Care Worker at the Thames Hospice to get her thoughts.

Podcaster Sam Hart shares with Dilys his top ten tips for getting through the day when feelings of being down and lonely threaten to overwhelm us

Every parent's worst nightmare is the death of a child.  Listen to Sandra Jeffs talk movingly - and bravely - about the loss of her son Michael

An unusual story today as I talk to an old friend Michael Kahn who lost his sister after a 10 year estrangement.   He opens up frankly about his reaction to her death - and it may surprise you.

I talk today with Tom Page who lost his father in 2019 and took up the offer of counselling from the Thames Hospice.  He shares how it helped him through his bereavement.

Poppy Mardall - today's guest - is a great advocate of talking more about death and dying.  She decided that funerals need a fresh approach and founded a business - called Poppy's - on that basis.  She tells us today what she thinks is wrong with many funerals and how we can improve on them

Today's episode will resonate with many of us, as Mark Tinkler talks about losing both his mother and father during the terrible time of Covid

For this Christmas week, we're talking to Catherine Beer of Thames Hospice about the range of feelings that can be stirred up by all the festivity around us, and how best to navigate the various anniversaries thrown up during grief.

In this episode, Dilys talks to Andrew Peters who reflects on one layer of grief on top of another..... the sudden loss of his father 10 years ago, followed by the sudden loss of his brother only last year

Sir Ken Dodd's widow - Lady Dodd - talks us through the story of her long life with the comedian and how she picked up the pieces after his death in 2018. An exhibition called Happiness , which celebrates Sir Ken's life as a comedian, entertainer, and singer is on in the Museum of Liverpool until 3rd March.

I'm Dilys Morgan and I met my late husband Michael Barratt when I joined the early evening BBC TV Nationwide programme. In this, the first episode of Living with dying, I tell my own story of the recent death of my husband of 47 years and some of the unexpected feelings I encountered.   Guiding me through is Counsellor Simon Smith of the Thames Hospice