Death
Opinion
Religion
Why a silent prayer at the grave of someone I never met was so exquisitely meaningful
Our commemorations for the dead take us inevitably into the extraordinary and unknowable.
- by Jane E Sullivan
Latest
Opinion
Opinion
I thought I knew what grief was but now realise I had no idea
It’s been five months since my dad passed away. Let me correct myself: It’s been five months since my dad died. I have to use that word – died – because my brain still refuses to believe it.
- by Ruby Kraner-Tucci
Spend on the champagne, not the coffin: How Aussie death rituals are changing
From living wakes to young adult death cafes, the nature of funerals and how we grieve is shifting in Australia.
- by Lauren Ironmonger
‘Mummy, when will you die?’ How I talk to my children about death
Since losing my brother, I’ve had to have conversations I was totally unprepared for. Here’s the expert advice that has helped.
- by Bella Brennan
‘To a certain extent, I’ve been in denial’: Ray Martin on life’s great mystery
He climbed to the pinnacle of Australian TV journalism. What challenge was left? The ultimate one.
- by Tim Elliott
Opinion
Estate planning
Death and taxes are inevitable. Here’s how retirees can minimise the latter
If couples and families don’t put proper preparations in place, serious financial problems can emerge when a loved one dies.
- by Noel Whittaker
My mother’s anxieties about something happening were always there. Now I know why
A tragic accident would shape my mother’s life – and impact my own a generation later.
- by Alice Robinson
Opinion
Opinion
I think my dead dog, Maggie, is communicating with me through FM radio
The death of my dog and the incredible story of a letter to a local newspaper from a dying man going viral and being read by millions have got me thinking about my own mortality.
- by Kate Halfpenny
‘Every serving of grief is a full serve’: The challenge of losing a twin in utero
It’s a loss that triggers contradictory emotions: how to square the happiness that one survived with an enduring sadness that the other didn’t?
- by Shelley Eves
Iconic fitness guru Richard Simmons dead at 76
A hero to a generation of people seeking weight loss transformation, fitness guru Richard Simmons was found dead at his Los Angeles home, aged 76.
- by Mark Kennedy
Scanning the dead: The machine replacing autopsies
Dr Chris O’Donnell is a necro-radiologist. In layman’s terms, he’s a scanner of the dead.
- by Margaret Gordon