Living with dying

Hello, I’m Dawn French. We often find it difficult to talk about death, but at the same time many of us will also know someone who has died, or has been recently bereaved, or is living with the knowledge that they are soon going to die because of terminal illness. The people interviewed in these video and audio clips talk about many subjects  including their feelings at different stages throughout the time that they are dying or dealing with someone else’s death. They talk about how they made sense of what had happened, or was happening, how they told their families and others, where they found help and support, how they made choices and decisions, how religion faith or philosophy helped them, and how they planned funerals.

For those telling their personal stories about how they knew when they were dying there are accounts of how bad news was broken to them, how they felt when their time left to live was limited, what it was like to spend time in a hospice either as a day patient or an inpatient, what they thought of their treatment including complimentary and alternative treatments, and about practical matters such as how they found financial help, and their thoughts about such things as wills and advanced directives. You can watch, or listen to, or read their first-hand experiences free online at any time. To make it easier for you to find what you are particularly interested in we have gathered together all the clips of people talking about the various issues of living with dying. It is a unique resource for those who are reaching the end of their own lives, for their families, for their friends, for carers both inside and outside hospital and for all those who are about to be or have been bereaved. We hope you find some comfort and support through the experiences of others.