When it comes to creating a unique and meaningful memorial service for someone you loved, the possibilities are limitless. Some families use colour and vibrancy (and even fireworks!) to celebrate a loved one’s life. Others take a collaborative approach by asking guests to share their memories of the deceased with photos or quotes. No matter…
There’s nothing harder than dealing with the passing of a loved one. As grief pulls us into its fold, there are arrangements to be made, people to be informed, affairs to be put in order. At this difficult time, many of us see a memorial service as an important opportunity to say a last goodbye. What’s…
Australian palliative care nurse, Bronnie Ware, spent years looking after patients in the last 3-12 weeks of their lives. She documented their epiphanies at end-of-life and was stunned to see the clarity and commonality between the thoughts they expressed. “People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to…
While no one wants to think about funerals, most of us will have to plan at least one in our lifetime. If enduring the loss of a loved one isn’t already enough, there’s always the financial burden of having to pay for the funeral. With the average cost of a burial in Australia being around…
While no one quite knows when they began, for decades surfers have been commemorating and celebrating the lives of their own by paddle out ceremonies. During the ceremony, surfers make their way out past the waves into calm water where they form a circle and join hands. Stories are often shared, prayers spoken and ashes…
How do you find a good funeral director? In the same way that a funeral is a deeply personal celebration and memorialisation of a someone’s life, finding a “good” funeral director that is right for you is also a personal question. And simply because someone clicks with a certain funeral director doesn’t mean that they’ll necessarily completely…
Today we launched a petition to require funeral directors to disclose their price lists online: https://www.change.org/p/protect-grieving-australian-families-require-online-funeral-price-disclosure Grieving Australian families are the most vulnerable consumers in the marketplace. In shock, with limited time, and without pricing information they are required to make one of the biggest purchasing decisions of their lives. Our proposal would eliminate opportunistic price increases,…