talking about grief – End of Life University

Learn how an EOL doula and funeral director in the UK have teamed up to creatively shift the conversation around death and dying.

My guests Anna Lyons and Louise Winter are the creative team behind the popular Life.Death.Whatever initiative to redesign the dialogue around death and dying. Anna is an end-of-life doula and Louise is a progressive funeral director in the UK. They share how their partnership has allowed them to address the full spectrum of end-of-life issues from terminal diagnosis to the dying process to after-death care and bereavement–all of which are beautifully covered in their newly released book We All Know How This Ends: Lessons About Life and Living from Working with Death and Dying. Learn more at their website:

www.lifedeathwhatever.com

Follow on Instagram: @lifedeathwhat

Get the book here

Listen here

This episode includes:

How Anna and Louise teamed up to create Life.Death.Whatever
The inspiration behind writing this book
How they developed two projects for public participation: Five Things and Unsaid
Why it is important to create links between end-of-life and after-death care
Sensitive or “taboo” topics covered in the book like sex during illness and at the end of life and what happens to the body during decomposition and cremation
Why they included COVID in their new book and the importance of acknowledging the pandemic when we talk about end-of-life issues
How to submit your own writing for Five Things or Unsaid
The most surprising things they’ve learned about life through working with death

Eat the gelato – especially if it’s salted caramel.”
from We All Know How this Ends by Anna Lyons and Louise Winter

Links mentioned in this episode:

Submit your Five Things or Unsaid writing to submissions@lifedeathwhatever.com
Sign up for the 2021 online reading group A Year of Reading Dangerously at this link
Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul
Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and get access to the EOLU mug: “Mind if we talk about death?” (only Patrons can purchase it). PLUS get our new bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes! Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu! Your contributions make all the difference!

Learn about a beautiful film and online initiative that teach our grief-avoidant society how to be in touch with grief and how to support those who are grieving.

My guest Lindsey Whissel Fenton is a film producer and Emmy award-winning storyteller who is passionate about using public media to build empathy. She produced, directed and wrote the documentary “Speaking Grief” and contributes to the initiative by the same name with a desire to explore the reality of grief and create a more grief-aware society. Learn more at the websites:

www.speakinggrief.org

www.lindseywhisselfenton.com

Listen here:

This episode includes:

How Lindsey became inspired to create a documentary about grief
Why Speaking Grief is important right now in light of the COVID-19 pandemic
Why we tend to avoid the topic of grief and the harm that causes
How to be with people who are grieving
The diverse range of grief experiences and why all grievers need to be validated
The resources available on the Speaking Grief website:
- Understanding grief
- Supporting grief
- Stories of grief
- Grief experts
Where to view the film
How to arrange a screening for a discussion group

Links mentioned in this episode:

Workshop with Suzanne O’Brien: Top Lessons Learned from Those at the End of Life – learn more here
Video from Life Class: view here
Blog: Seeing the Light – Over Lobster Tempura
Blog: Something Beautiful is Happening
Event Planning Guide for Speaking Grief
Watch the documentary here
Upcoming airdates for the film

Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and get access to the EOLU mug: “Mind if we talk about death?” (only Patrons can purchase it). PLUS get our new bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!