Living Well, Dying Wise

I talk about death and dying as if it’s the most natural thing in the world…
because it is.

Welcome

A nurture by nature, I offer compassionate care, practical guidance and deep presence to humans navigating dying, death and grief. So that’s all of us, really.

I encourage folks to reimagine their final chapter – whether you are closer to the end rather than the beginning of life or if you would simply like to honour your ending, your way. Using tenderness, care and curiosity to greet death, I wish for ever body to be well-resourced and deeply supported into the beyond. The beyond is what I affectionately call where we might go when we die. Please call it what you will, and I will meet you there.

None us know what happens when life ceases. All we can be certain of is this truth - we are all dying. And how we die matters.

Erin is wearing a red brown top and dark green skirt with her dark blonde hair loose. She is sitting in a relaxed pose, her left hand over her heart space and right hand placed over her sacral. Her eyes are closed and she is slightly smiling

Death Care

BEFORE

you want to plan & prepare

DURING

you or someone you love is dying

AFTER

your worlds been rearranged, now what?

Workshops in the Community

Erin offers thoughtful, experiential workshops that invite participants to explore end of life planning in a new way, based on the old ways - community, care and compassion.

Erin blends her lived experience with her industry experience, bringing personal insights and professional skills together. She hopes participants leave feeling informed, inspired and empowered by the multitude of end of life possibilities.

We have more choice and control than we are led to believe. Erin has created a 4 part death and grief literacy skill building series where each workshop is connected, covering planning and preparation for before, during and after death. These draw upon her experience of caring for the terminally ill at home and in hospice and working in the funeral industry as well as a very brief stint in mortuary care.

We recommend all four workshops, but any is better than none. Reach out for more information.

Learn more

Testimonials

"We recently engaged the services of Erin to help us work through Advance Health Directives and to explore getting our "death ducks in a row". Each session was run with care, tenderness and reverence for a subject most people want to sweep quietly under the carpet. Erin is very knowledgeable about all things death. The gift of her lived and work experience shines through in these sessions. All our questions were answered & discussed with thoughtfulness and a good splash of humour. These sessions are thought provoking, highly practical and surprisingly enjoyable. They have helped us to get clear about what matters most to us in life and death. We have a great framework and all the information we need to not only make our wishes known, but for end of life to be as easy as possible on those left behind. What a gift!"

- Jody, Perth
"A few weeks back, I had the privilege of undertaking a journey with Erin, and death. An investigation, into whats important to me, around my departure from the world. It was exciting, confronting and revealing, amongst many other things. Erin walked me through what we'd be doing in the session, before walking me into myself, through meditation. Then there were very thought provoking questions for me to answer, and some to contemplate later. We finished, with a soft and lovely integration time. Erin combines her lived experience with death, alongside her array of skills, modalities and wisdom, with her natural ability for space holding and presence. Her humanity and heart, and the way she gently supported me, allowed me to get really curious and brought answers to questions I wasn't even aware I had, before. Erin understands, how to nurture the body, mind, heart and spirit, and the importance of including all aspects in the process. Bringing Death, to Life, has absolutely had a profound impact on me, and the way I live in each moment."

— Rach, Perth
"I would highly recommend engaging Erin Griffin as a presenter to explore End of Life Matters education sessions for the community. Erin has a rare talent for holding space to discuss topics that can be somewhat uncomfortable, such as planning your legacy, preparing a will, communicating your wishes to loved ones and dealing with grief. In these intimate sessions, Erin is able to assist people to navigate through the complexity of the all the legal and medical paperwork, so they feel more confident and secure in having their “death ducks in row”. Through her lived experience of providing palliative care and working in the funeral industry, as well as having provided grief counselling to patients and their families – Erin is a skilful guide for leading groups in discussions on the topic of death and dying in a sensitive and empowering manner."

— Kim Veale, Community Learning Officer, City of Canning

What I Do

My role as an end-of-life tour guide is to help you choose your own adventure.

Together we can:

get your death ducks in a row - practical plans for death your way
clarify and advocate for your health care needs, aligned with your values
improve death and grief literacy to make tough conversations more tender
navigate life limiting illnesses by focussing on what matters to you most
help find meaning, presence, and calm in the dying chapter
face life transitions (yours or a loved ones) resourced, skilled & supported
give grief a chance - the anticipatory, the complex, the ancient, the collective, the small griefs and the ‘life will never be the same again griefs’
explore body based practices like yoga and meditation for support

This isn’t about fear - although we can work with that too. It’s about respect, the reality of mortality and reclaiming death as part of life.

Why It Matters

How we die shapes how we grieve, and when we remember this, it becomes undeniable, how we die matters.

In Western culture, death is often medicalised, hidden, or treated as failure and more often than not occurs in a facility far from homely. Yet research tells us most of us would prefer to die at home, surrounded by familiarity and that which comforts.

Dying at home is possible, with advanced care planning and support. Like birth, death takes a village. Now death care is being brought back to life — heart-led, community-oriented, and curious - we are asking what IS possible?

This is our life and our death after all.‍