Woman's Own

My journey with grief

Standing at the podium, I look out at a sea of faces and prepare to speak, carefully choosing my words, conscious there are people present who’ve lost a loved one. ‘There’s no right or wrong way to grieve, and there are no set stages to follow,’ I say. It’s November 2019, and I’m giving a talk at a gala dinner, for hundreds of people from the local community. I’m a grief recovery specialist, funeral director and civil funeral celebrant, and frequently speak at events, sharing my knowledge and experience.

Since I was nine, I knew what I wanted to do. ‘I’m going to be an undertaker,’ I told my mum, Margaret, then 43. I’d never been to

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