How do different religions view death and dying?
Religion and spirituality are something many people will think about when faced with mortality, whether a person has been given a terminal diagnosis, is approaching the end of their life, or has experienced a bereavement.
In her latest blog for Part of Life, guest blogger Amy Jackson delves in to religious beliefs around death and dying.
Reuse of graves in the UK: sacrilegious or pragmatic?
The UK is experiencing a shortage of burial space, particularly in urban areas. The Law Commission has proposed changes to the law to allow the reuse of graves to address this issue.
So what does grave reuse entail? And what are the proposed changes? And is this really a new idea at all?
Cherished Moments: How to Make Memories That Last a Lifetime
While we all know it’s important to build lasting memories with those we love, sometime it’s difficult to know how to achieve this.
For guest blogger, Rosie Buckley, this is a subject close to her heart, and here she offers some wonderful tips to help make memories you will cherish long after they have gone.
Grief support
Christmas can be a difficult time of year for those who are bereaved or grieving. We have pulled together a list of resources that you can turn to when you need a break from the festivities to find some calm and solace.
National Grief Awareness Week 2024: Six Ways to Support Someone Who is Grieving
The 2nd to 8th of December marks National Grief Awareness Week 2024. We spoke to Part of Life guest blogger, Amy Jackson, about how best to offer support to someone who is grieving.
Assisted dying in the UK: compassion or manslaughter?
As MPs voted in favour of Kim Leadbeater’s Private Member’s Bill on Assisted Dying, we delve deeper into the issues of assisted dying and explore opinions on both sides of the debate.
The Grief Self-Care Guide
To mark National Self-Care Week, we asked guest blogger, Amy Jackson, for her tips on how she took care of herself after experiencing a number of bereavements. Her Grief Self Care Guide provides simple and accessible tips to help adjust to life without loved ones and to improve wellbeing.
A Halloween Ode to Brompton Cemetery
Inspired by a Halloween stroll around Brompton Cemetery, London, Part of Life penned a poem to shine a light on the beauty to be found behind cemetery walls.
Book review: A Beginner’s Guide to Dying
A beginner’s Guide to Dying, a review of Simon Boas’s acclaimed and inspiring end of life journey, by James Byron.
Demystifying body donation
Body donation is the act of giving your whole body after death to a medical school or research institution for use in education, research or training. So why do people choose to donate their bodies and how can you do it?
Doctors and death: A Dose of Grief
According to research, nearly 80% of doctors have experienced a distressing patient event in the last year, and many go on to suffer from depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Two Melbourne medical students, share how unprepared they felt to deal with the inevitable deaths of patients and how they are tackling this important issue.
Is death really taboo?
Sue Brayne has an MA in the Rhetoric and Rituals of Death and is an end-of-life researcher and she is the author of The D-Word: talking about dying.
In this blog for Part of Life, Sue explains how her work with the Death Café movement has led her to believe that talking about death is no longer the taboo it once was, but what we lack is the understanding of how to talk about death and dying.
Review - ‘Eternal You’: a documentary about the Digital Afterlife Industry
Khadiza Laskor reviews ‘Eternal You’ for Part of Life: a documentary about the Digital Afterlife Industry, released in June 2024 at the Sundance Film Festival.
Khadiza is a third-year PhD Student at the University of Bristol’s Cyber Security Centre for Doctoral Training Programme.
Nature connectedness – Dorothy House’s Interactive Nature Trail
As a Hospice, Dorothy House’s vision is of a society where death is part of life. Through its seasons, nature reminds us of the fragility of life and offers peace and solace from sadness and overwhelm. Their ambition is to open up the site at Winsley, Bradford-on-Avon, to anyone wishing to find a wellbeing space to reflect in nature, or to find serenity in grief.
Motor Neurone Disease study findings published in BMC Palliative Care
21 June, 2024 marks Global Motor Neurone Awareness Day. This date is selected for the special reason that it marks a solstice seen by many as a turning point in the year; the start of a new season of hope. Research into MND, which affects 1 in 300, can help offer that hope.
Digital Immortality: In memory of Gordon Bell
In May 2024, one of the pioneers of personal computing passed away. Those familiar with technology’s relationship with death will be aware of Chester Gordon Bell, who helped coin the phrase ‘Digital Immortality.’ Khadiza Laskor had the privilege of meeting him a few months ago, and felt it was important to reflect upon Bell’s influence in the sphere of digital immortality.
Wild swimming and grief
Increasing numbers of studies are connecting the power of nature to wellbeing, pain management and peace at end of life. At Part of Life, we understand that nature can be a solace for mental suffering, be it anxiety, depression or grief.
There are many ways to connect with nature to access its mental health benefits. One popular method to immerse oneself in nature is wild swimming.
Burial customs from around the world
In the western world, though our funerary practices are evolving, we are most familiar with two methods to dispose of the dead: burial and cremation. In other parts of the world, the treatment of the dead and disposal of remains can vary enormously, with vastly differing rituals and beliefs.
A Good Goodbye
What makes a good goodbye? We invited independent funeral celebrant, and ex-social worker, Susanna Watson to share her thoughts on what elements make for a good funeral send off.
Cemetery Photography
Ever heard of Taphophilia? We approached tombstone tourist, Madame Cimetière, to share her love of cemetery photography and discover more about this respectful and beautiful art form.