Grief & After
Losing a partner after a long life together
Bereavement in later life involves losing not only a person but a way of living, and the practical consequences are frequently as destabilising as the grief.
Topic
practical
Every Before Last Wish article tagged practical — 7 pieces across 4 sections.
Funeral Planning
The first twenty-four hours
What actually has to happen immediately after a death is a short list, and knowing it prevents decisions being made under pressure that cost money and cause regret.
Advance Directives
Living with a terminal diagnosis: the practical work
There is a period after a terminal diagnosis in which a great deal can be arranged, and using it well makes the following months substantially easier for everyone.
Family Conversations
Telling people that someone has died
Delivering the news is exhausting, repetitive and frequently done badly for lack of any guidance on how.
Grief & After
Clearing the house
Sorting through someone’s possessions is among the hardest tasks in bereavement, and it is frequently done too quickly, by the wrong people, in the wrong order.
Family Conversations
Caring for a parent while holding everything else together
Family carers provide the overwhelming majority of care, largely unpaid and largely unnoticed, and the practical support that exists is frequently unclaimed.
Grief & After
The first two weeks: what actually has to be done
The period immediately after a death involves a set of practical tasks, most of which are less urgent than they feel, and a few that genuinely are.