dying

Dying Matters Chair Gary Rycroft, a solicitor based in Lancaster, considers the lessons we can learn from the death of David Bowie, who planned his death with the same meticulousness that he planned his brilliant career, dying peacefully at home surrounded by loved ones.  

Jon Underwood is the founder of Death Cafe, a fast-growing movement which sees people gathering to eat, drink and discuss death. Influenced by the work of Swiss sociologist Bernard Crettaz, the goal of Death Cafe is to create a safe environment where people feel comfortable talking about the one common fate awaiting us all.  What started in Jon’s basement has swiftly grown into an international phenomenon, with numerous events worldwide.

Phil Isherwood, pictured, right, with a patient at Bolton Hospice, where he is a volunteer poet, discusses the potential for poetry to boost patients' psychological wellbeing in hospice settings. Phil is also a research student at the University of Bolton, writing a thesis on ‘Numinous Connections: Poetry in the Hospice’. 

Mireille Hayden set up end of life care training company Gentle Dusk following family disagreement about what was best for her mother, who died suddenly without having made any end of life plans. Mireille now devotes herself to ensuring others don't have to go through what her family did.

Right: Mireille (standing) delivering a Gentle Dusk workshop. 

Funeral photographer Rachel Wallace, who appeared on BBC2's 'Dead Good Job' recently, talks about what inspired her to take up her work, and how it feels to occasionally be met with "shock and revulsion".