Why are we comfortable surrounding ourselves with obvious reminders of mortality for one night each year?

Many of us know very little about what actually happens as someone approaches the end of their life, but learning about the dying process can help make it a little less mysterious.

If you want to discuss death but you’re not sure where to start, a good place to could be your local death cafe. In this blog, Amy Jackson writes about visiting a death café, and how, far from being depressing or bleak, she found it an uplifting experience.

For some of us, comedy can be a lifeline through life’s darkest moments. In this blog, Amy Jackson explores the relationship between death and comedy, and why we use humour to cope with grief.

Wayne de Leeuw, ex-palliative care nurse and CEO of Dorothy House, interviews writer, speaker and palliative care specialist, Kathryn Mannix, sharing how their careers have shaped their views on death and dying.

Singer, songwriter, Beth Nielsen Chapman discusses the taboo of death and the importance of destigmatisation, the death of her husband, and of her friend, Olivia Newton John.

Part of Life was delighted to sit down with celebrated BBC journalist, Radio 4 Today programme presenter, writer and author, Justin Webb, 10 years after the death of his beloved mother.

Chris Meehan, Consultant Histopathologist opens his doors and shares his thoughts on post-mortems, death and the public perception.

When you die, one of the most significant decisions your family may need to make is how your body will be laid to rest. Read our blog to discover the pros and cons of burial and cremation.

Part of Life sat down with actress, Vicky Krieps, to discuss Emily Atef'‘s stirring film, More than Ever, which charts the end of Helene’s life and the choices she makes to reassert control over her terminal illness.

“In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row.”
Visit our library of poetry reflecting the themes of war and death, offering a place to reflect and find peace.

Throughout history, humans have shown a consistent desire to remember the dead—not just in spirit, but in form. Among the most haunting and intimate expressions of this desire is the death mask.

In the West, we are most familiar with burial and cremation. Further afield, the treatment of the dead can vary enormously. Here, we look at burial customs from around the world.

Religion and spirituality are something many people will think about when faced with mortality. In this blog Amy Jackson delves in to religious beliefs around death.

For many families in the 19th and early 20th centuries, post-mortem photography was the only chance to capture an image of a loved one. This practice offered grieving families a final portrait for remembrance. Discover more.

In this blog, guest blogger Rosie Buckley offers some wonderful tips to help make memories with loved ones that you will cherish long after they have gone.

We’re quick to say there is no right or wrong way to grieve, but when it comes to the loss of a pet, those views can quickly change. Amy Jackson asks why the death of a pet is so often overlooked.

Sex, intimacy & relationships at the end of life. When someone is living with a terminal illness, every part of life can shift, including how they feel about their body, their sexuality & their relationships.

Sex and intimacy often overlooked by healthcare professionals at the end of life. Dying for Sex steers directly into that very topic, explores themes of empowerment and mortality.

James Byron from the Part of Life team sat down with multidisciplinary artist Crystal D Evans at her What Remains exhibition to discuss life, art, death and activism.

Saiyada Fazal recently attended the premiere of Life After, a film focusing on the topic of assisted dying from the perspective of disabled people. Here are her personal thoughts on the confronting film, Life After.

Albert recently qualified as an integrative counsellor, focusing on loss and grief. In this blog, he explains his role as a volunteer Compassionate Companion.

Stephen Coates is the co-creator of London Month of the Dead, a fascinating festival of talks, tours and events about death and mortality, running throughout October. We find out all about this scintillating series.

Mangala Holland is a death doula in training, having completed a foundation course with Living Well Dying Well. In this blog, we asked her why she decided to become a death doula and how she began her new career.

James Byron, Director of Marketing & Engagement at Dorothy House Hospice Care asks world-renowned artist Bruce Munro about his motivation in creating art and its relationship with death and human connection.

Dying Matters Awareness Week, 2025 focuses on how different communities and cultures feel, talk about, and deal with death and dying – and what brings them together. Saiyada Fazel shares her Tanzanian perspective.

Part of Life has created a list of art works that offer different representations of death and dying. We hope that they offer a spark to connect with questions around mortality, and space to reflect and consider the ultimate human experience.

Part of Life attended The Power of Liminal Time workshop, aimed at understanding why men are reticent to attend such workshops. This blog is a personal journey, offering a white male perspective on the session that is in no way meant to lessen any other experiences.

Part of Life was delighted to sit down with the celebrated BBC journalist, Radio 4 Today presenter & author. 10 years after the death of his beloved mother, Justin discusses grief, hospice care & the importance of talking about death.

In her latest blog for Part of Life, Amy Jackson reviews the acclaimed film, We Live in Time, looking at the emotional themes involved and how they are portrayed and the important questions it raises about mortality and memory.

Each of the symbols you find on Victorian cemetery headstones are rich in meaning, but if you’re unfamiliar with them, may need some decoding. Read our guide to cemetery iconography, with examples from the Bath Abbey Cemetery.

The UK is experiencing a shortage of burial space, particularly in urban areas. The Law Commission has proposed changes to the law to allow the reuse of graves to address this issue, But is this sacrilegious or pragmatic, we explore.

Christmas can be a difficult time of year for those who are bereaved or grieving. We have compiled a list of resources that you can turn to when you need a break from the festivities to find some calm and solace.

Amy Jackson shares how best to offer support to someone who is grieving. It can be tricky to navigate a friend or family member’s grief, but here, Amy offers six invaluable tips.

On Friday 29 November, MPs voted in support of Kim Leadbeater’s private members’ Assisted Dying Bill. In this blog, we delve deeper into the issues of assisted dying and explore opinions on both sides of the debate.

To mark National Self-Care Week, we asked guest blogger, Amy Jackson, for her wellbeing tips after experiencing a number of bereavements. Her Grief Self Care Guide provides simple and accessible ways to navigate grief.

Inspired by an Autumnal Halloween walk through Brompton Cemetery, London, Part of Life penned this poem to shine a light on the beauty, life, love and hope that lies deep within the walls of this historic place of rest.

Body donation is the act of giving your whole body after death to a medical school or research institution for use in education, research or training. So why do people choose to donate their bodies and how can you do it?

Following the death of it’s author, James Byron reviews, A beginner’s Guide to Dying; Simon Boas’s acclaimed and inspiring end of life journey. Discover what all the fuss was about and what Kathryn Mannix had to say about it.

Nearly 80% of doctors have experienced a distressing patient event and many go on to suffer from depression and PTSD. Two Melbourne med' students, share how unprepared they felt and how they're tackling this important issue.

What happens to the body after death is still one of the most popular search terms. We spoke to Family Tree Funerals to discover more about the after death process.

Dorothy House Hospice Care’s vision is of a society where death is part of life. They’re opening their site to anyone wishing to find a wellbeing space to reflect in nature, or to find serenity in grief.

Sue Brayne explains how her work with the Death Café movement has led her to believe that talking about death is no longer the taboo it once was, but what we lack is the understanding of how to talk about it.

In her second blog for Part of Life, Khadiza Laskor, a PhD Student at the University of Bristol’s Cyber Security Centre for Doctoral Training Programme, reviews ‘Eternal You’: a documentary about the Digital Afterlife Industry.

Ahead of the launch of her debut book, Part of Life interviewed TikTok sensation @hospicenursejulie about the myths, misconceptions and beauty of death and dying.

Khadiza Laskor met Gordon Bell a few months ago, just ahead of his recent death. In this blog she reflects upon his influence in the sphere of digital immortality and his role in capturing memories.

21 June, 2024 marks Global Motor Neurone Awareness Day. This date is selected for the special reason that it marks a solstice seen by many as a turning point in the year; the start of a new season of hope.

There are many ways to connect with nature to access its mental health benefits. One popular method to immerse oneself in nature is wild swimming, discover more in our blog.

What makes a good goodbye? We invited independent funeral celebrant, and ex-social worker, Susanna Watson to share her thoughts on what elements make for a good and affordable funeral or send off.

Ever heard of Taphophilia? We asked the French tombstone tourist, Madame Cimetière, to share her love of cemetery photography and help us discover more about this beautiful and respectful art form.

Exploring end of life stories through film offers important life lessons and kickstart uncomfortable conversations. Movies are a moyenne through which to destigmatise death and dying.

Part of Life spoke to Dr. Kate Woodthorpe, Co-Director of the Centre for Death and Society at Bath University, about how she came to work in death studies and where she believes the future of grief is heading.

When there are no words, there is music. Our Playlist contains songs, music and podcasts from a wide range of genres, but all are designed to destigmatise death & grief. Tune in, skip or rewind and find your track.

Sisters, Katy and Lindsey founded DEAD GOOD, a not-for-profit, arts-based death education company that aims to end taboos around all things death and dying. Take a look at their Get Mortal Parties

Study beats, Saturday night party hits, hardcore workout anthems maybe, but a Grief Playlist? Amy Jackson shares her top five songs to grieve to. Listen along, share your top tunes and visit our Part of Life Playlist.

Running from 16-23 November 2023, we asked Dorothy House Psychological Support Lead, Anne Montague to provide tips on how to support children through grief.

Many of the traditions associated with the modern British funeral are actually hundreds and thousands of years old. But nothing is permanent, and trends are now moving in a very different direction.

To mark Remembrance Sunday, we have compiled a new war poetry library to offer space to reflect & honour the incredible sacrifice made so we can all make the most of life.

In this wide-ranging interview, Dr Hilda Hayo, CEO of Dementia UK, outlines her top five myths about Dementia & reveals the tragic lack of support for Early Onset Dementia.

We interviewed James Norris of the Digital Legacy Association about how to curate the digital footprint we leave behind for our own peace of mind and for loved ones after we die.

Wayne de Leeuw, ex-palliative care nurse and Chief Executive of Dorothy House Hospice, interviews writer, speaker and palliative care specialist, Kathryn Mannix.

As Chief Medical Officer, NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board, Dr Bernie Marden shares his personal and professional views on how death is a part of life.

Dr Luciani shares how he’s turning his GP burnout into a new and innovative EoL toolkit to reduce GP overwhelm, avoid crisis-management and improve patient outcomes.

In his second interview with Part of Life, ex-President of the BMA, Sir Al Aynsley Green shares his wife’s journey through dementia and calls for compassion to be at the heart of end of life care planning.

The death of a grandchild is hard to bear. But the death of three and his own wife, seems incomprehensible. Peter Hime, shares his perspectives on making death a part of life for children.

BSW Junior Doctor, Eve Barnes, shares her perspectives on the What Matters to You movement and the importance of signing the charter ahead of What Matters to You Day on 9th June, 2023.

19 year-old Jess’s Mum died in May 2021. In this honest and disarming interview Jess shares her experience of death, grief and bereavement and its catastrophic impact on her life.

From losing his father aged ten, to his time as England’s first Children’s Commissioner, hidden mourners and religions - Sir Al makes a passionate plea for change.

On grief, mortality and the power of music to heal, Nashville great, Beth shares her personal journey through diagnosis, dying, death & its impact on creativity.

Ahead of the UK premiere of More than Ever, we speak to Cannes award winner, Vicky Krieps to discuss death literacy in Hollywood and its power to change perceptions of death and dying.

We come from nature and nature surrounds us, but what role can nature play at the end of life?
What does the research say and how are bio-phillic designers shaping modern healthcare architecture?

People with learning disabilities & autism, die earlier & face little or no end-of-life care planning. Lynnette Glass, shares an ambition to change this inequality.

Can digital legacies extend our relationships with loved ones from the grave, or are they fraught with risk and have the potential to affect the grieving process?

Age UK B&NES share their top tips for planning ahead for the end of life; from power of attorney, to difficult conversations, getting affairs in order can help reduce anxiety.

It’s tough being a teenager. It becomes immeasurably harder when you’re losing, or have lost a loved one. Anne Montague, We Hear You, discusses how to support teens through grief.

Like birth, it is something that unites us all, yet death has become a dirty word, with our very vocabulary weaponised to combat its inevitability. Part of Life is here to change that.

A new report from Compassion in Dying, Bridging the Gap: How to Ensure People's Decisions are Respected at the End of Life, has revealed a troubling reality: too many people in the UK are still dying in ways they explicitly said they did not want.