What if we peeled back the fear and taboo associated with dying and looked at death through the lens of acceptance and celebration? Annie Werner is doing just that.
The story of Annie Werner and Genevieve Derwent’s inspiring move from Sydney to the Bega Valley was featured in the very first issue of Pip magazine, exactly 10 years ago. That first visit, I drove down their dirt driveway to the tiny strawbale loft home they had constructed to live in while they gathered the resources to build their forever home.
We sat and talked while feasting on homegrown chickens and vegies and a friendship started. With two young kids, a beautiful love story and big dreams, Annie and Genevieve were living an idyllic life with big plans for the property and their future. Since then, they’ve built their dream house, their kids are now teenagers and their handmade house has grown and evolved into home filled with love, cooking, craft and colour.
Now, 10 years on I am talking to Annie about her take on her impending death. Annie, 45, was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago and, after a very