Dying Matters Week
We are taking part in Dying Matters Week this May to encourage people to talk about and plan for death and dying. Check out the resources we have available below.
Talking about death isn't easy, but it matters.
Every day, our staff and volunteers talk openly about death and dying; these conversations not only help the person approaching the end of their life, but also supports family and friends in their bereavement, knowing they fulfilled their loved one’s wishes and, ultimately, helped them to have a ‘good’ death.
It can feel scary, morbid and confusing to have these conversations, but it doesn’t have to be this way.
This Dying Matters Week, check out the resources on this page to help you have these all-important conversations with your loved ones before it’s too late.
This year’s theme
The Culture of Dying Matters
The theme for 2025 focuses on how different communities and cultures in the UK feel, talk about, and deal with death and dying – and what brings them together.
There are of course many differences in the ways that cultures and faiths approach and mark death and dying. But at their core, feelings about dying, and our experiences of grief, are universal emotions that we all share, no matter who we are or where we live.
Planning ahead tool
Planning ahead for your final wishes can feel overwhelming, so we’ve put together a document you can use to help guide and prompt you when thinking ahead. It doesn’t need to be done overnight, but you will feel relieved knowing that this information is recorded somewhere. Not only will this give you peace of mind, but it’s an essential document for loved ones left behind, helping them to cope with the practical ‘death admin’ alongside their bereavement.
Reading list
The team behind Dying Matters Week have put together a list of reading recommendations.
Waiting for the Last Bus by Richard Holloway
A wise and humble exploration of older age, and the approach of life’s end. How should we face our own mortality? Warm, kind and gentle.
Dear Life by Rachel Clarke
A palliative care doctor reflects on her work, on how dying can be made bearable, and the importance of talking about death realistically.
Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter
A fictional blend of poetry and prose describing the grief of a widower and his young sons following the death of their mother. A beautiful and validating exploration of grieving, laced with wry humour, suitable for teens, young adults and grown-ups.
Grief Works by Julia Samuel
Using stories from her practice, an experienced grief therapist talks us through the pain and challenge of grief and offers tools that all of us can use to help us cope with bereavement
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
Didion captures the mundanity of grief so well – how it creeps into your everyday life, like when you’re doing the washing up or driving to work, bam. So often in grief we concentrate on the big things, but it’s often in the quiet, boring parts that grief can really hit.
You Are Not Alone by Cariad Lloyd
Cariad shares her learnings over the 20+ years she’s been grieving. Parts of the book have you ferociously nodding! It really makes you feel exactly what the title says, that you are not alone.
Podcast
Tune into The Dying Matters Podcast wherever you get your podcasts, for a range of topics including bucket lists, funerals, and bereavement, along with personal stories and special guests.
Further resources
More information can be accessed at hospiceuk.org/dying-matters.
Grief in the workplace
We have limited places available for our upcoming bereavement workshop, where you will be given the tools to support someone experiencing illness or bereavement in the workplace, or how to cope with the death of a colleague.
Want to get your affairs in order?
Leaving a Will is the best way to ensure your wishes are carried out after you are gone.
You can even access our free Will writing service, taking the time, stress and cost out of making a Will.