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A selection, for Dying Matters Awareness Week, of the best books, podcasts and films to help us talk about death, dying and grief, from Palliative Medicine Consultant, Dr. Lucy Pain.

This page takes around 4 minutes to read.

Talking about dying: books, podcasts and films

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Talking about death, dying and grief can be tough, so to help people have these conversations, we’ve been collaborating with artists and writers to put together useful grief and bereavement resources. 

In this guest blog post, Dying Matters Awareness Week expert Dr. Lucy Pain of North London Hospice shares her suggestions of books, and podcasts and films which could help when someone is dying.

This page is available to download as a printable poster as part of our handy Awareness Week resources.

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Dr Lucy Pain is our Dying Matters Awareness Week expert

About Dr. Lucy Pain

Dr. Lucy Pain is our Dying Matters Awareness week expert. She is a Palliative Medicine Consultant with nearly 20 years' experience caring for people with incurable illness. 

Lucy’s passion is improving care for everyone in the last year of life and challenging taboos surrounding death and dying. 

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Listen by Kathryn Mannix

Listen by Kathryn Mannix

This is a fantastic book by the author of With the End in Mind

In this publication Kathryn shares her insights and experiences from her career as a palliative care doctor to help everyone have better, more honest conversations.

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The Language of Kindness by Christie Watson

The Language of Kindness by Christie Watson

I had the pleasure of working with Christie during the pandemic and was bowled over by this honest account of her experiences as a professional and a daughter. 

I hope that this book will help you to reflect on personal experiences and losses, fuelling conversations just like it did for me.

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Dear Life by Rachel Clarke

Dear Life by Rachel Clarke

This personal account and reflection from another Palliative Care doctor helps to shed light on the experience of those affected by life limiting illness. 

She shares how we can focus on the most important parts of life as we near the end: with more love, more strength, more kindness, more smiles, more dignity, more joy, more tenderness, more compassion.

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Ashes to Admin by Evie King

Ashes to Admin by Evie King

Evie shares moving yet humorous stories from her career organising funerals where family or friends are unable to. 

Obviously you learn a certain amount of practical information about funeral planning, but her uplifting style normalises death, explaining that people who work around death are generally upbeat and cheerful – as facing death takes away the fear that festers in most people.

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PODCAST, Conversations about Advance Care Planning by Clare Fuller

Conversations about Advance Care Planning

This podcast series by Clare Fuller is an amazing and inspiring resource for anyone who wants to plan for their own future or help someone else to plan theirs. 

With over 80 episodes and still growing, there is something for everyone with interviews from an array of wonderful guests.

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FILM, Island by Steven Eastwood

Island by Steven Eastwood

This film documents the lives and relationships of four people living with incurable illness on the Isle of Wight with delicacy and seriousness. 

It's an intimate account of their lives and deaths, and is bound to prompt reflection and discussion on what matters most to us as we approach the end of life.

https://hospiceuk-files-prod.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2024-05/the-way-we-talk-about-dying-matters-awareness-week-animation-hospiceuk.png

The way we talk about Dying Matters

Patricia is living with an incurable illness. Mumtaz’s husband Rasheeque died in 2021. And Lucy is a Palliative Medicine Consultant at North London Hospice. 

Together, they add their powerful experiences to the 2024 Dying Matters Awareness Week animation – exploring how language plays such an important part at the end of someone’s life.

Watch on Youtube