Скачать или смотреть Talking Death Over Drinks: Planning End-of-Life with Paulina & Katrina 🍸

Welcome to Conversations on The Socials! In this vital chat, Katrina sits down with Paulina Mangano, a funeral director and celebrant, to discuss the often-avoided topic of end-of-life planning and death.


Paulina and Katrina, along with Kirsty and Ruth from Newcastle Compassionate Communities, are bringing an event called "Death over Drinks" to Newcastle. The goal? To make conversations about the end of life more commonplace, so people can approach their own or a loved one's death with more confidence and knowledge.


Key Discussion Points

The Gift of Planning: Paulina shares her experience as a funeral director, noting that funerals where the person who has passed was involved in the planning have a profoundly different, more peaceful feel for the immediate family. Knowing the person's wishes takes away the "second guessing" and rushed decisions, allowing the family to better sit with their grief.

A Different Approach to Funerals: Paulina explains that her philosophy is to take the "cookie-cutter" out of funeral services. She aims to enable people to have choice and time, emphasizing that the "sky's the limit" (within legal limits) for celebrating a person's life authentically, whether it's in a backyard, on a farm, or a historic site.

The Urgency Myth: They discuss the tendency to rush through end-of-life arrangements due to pain and the fast pace of medical institutions. Paulina stresses that when working with a funeral director, there is no rush to make decisions, and it's essential to slow down the conversation to focus on the person, not just the checklist.

Home Vigils & Doulas: The conversation touches on taking a different path, such as a home vigil where the family looks after the body themselves. Paulina confirms that funeral directors can work with end-of-life doulas—who are amazing for providing body care and emotional support for the family—to help facilitate these choices.

Death and Living Fully: Katrina and Paulina both share how having the concept of death in the foreground helps them live more fully and bravely, appreciating what they have. They believe embracing the reality of death allows for a better life.

The Power of a Conversation: The core message is simply asking for a conversation. It doesn't have to be a full pre-planned funeral, but about being informed, starting to think about what you want, and most importantly, sharing your wishes with loved ones.

#EndofLifePlanning#DeathConversation#DyingWell#GriefSupport#FuneralPlanning