Dying Matters Awareness Week 2026Hello and welcome to the second Let’s Discuss Death newsletter. We have had a very recent, utterly tragic and devasting bereavement in the family, so I’m writing this from a raw and discombobulated place. I’m writing to you today because this coming week is Dying Matters Awareness Week in the UK and, in partnership with the libraries in Tower Hamlets and the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, we have organised a range of free events running from Monday 4th to Sunday 10th May. Learn how to navigate tender family conversations at end-of-life Come and ask my favourite funeral director anything Learn how to prepare for the inevitable with a death doula Explore how nature and crafting can play a role in grief Hear extraordinary stories from a critical care nurse
For full listings and to book your free tickets, please take a look on Eventbrite. I would love to see you there - and please spread the word to anyone you know who might be interested. I have been very grateful for the collection of experiences I’ve had in my life which have enabled me to support my family in various ways over the last fortnight. Navigating repeated and terrifying health challenges with my son taught me how to be a thoughtful and fierce (but polite) medical advocate. Working as a funeral director showed me that dead bodies are not to be feared - and when it is the body of a human you love, whatever their age, spending time in their presence is a privilege. Volunteering in bereavement support with a charity for years revealed the ways each person’s grief is unique - but also the shared truths which connect all grieving humans. As my whole family is in the earliest days of a grief which will remain with us always, I’m very thankful for all these experiences. Our Mission: Compassion Through Death-LiteracyThe aim of Let’s Discuss Death is to improve death literacy - within families, friendship groups, work places, communities. The more we know and understand, the better we are able to advocate for ourselves and support each other. You can become more death literate in different ways - one is experiential. If you help someone navigate the end of their life, you will be more death literate by the end. We want you to have a good foundation of knowledge before you’re required to learn in real time. What started as a seed of an idea is now brewing into a public health project in the London borough of Tower Hamlets. We’re working with people working in the NHS and in Adult Social Care. We’re working with community groups, charities and schools. Come and be a part of this death literacy revolution. Keep Up to DateDon’t miss out on announcements for our events. Please follow us and connect with our community on Instagram. I have to say, the death and grief community on Instagram is so lovely - warm, kind, compassionate humans. If you have ideas for grants we should be applying for, companies or schools we should work with, or events you’d like us to organise please just reply to this email. Thank you again for being part of Let’s Discuss Death. Warmly,
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