Knowledge Hub
Moray Business Women’s Showcase Event
A 5 minute slot at local Moray Business Women’s Showcase evening, 10th March 2020 – not a lot of time!
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Is funeral insurance really worth it?
Marisa, a client, contacted me with an urgent tone in her voice. “Should I get funeral insurance? I really want to sort my funeral out, but this is a big stumbling block for me. I just can’t decide, and it’s keeping me awake at night.” Aged 68, Marisa was aware…
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3 Tips on How to Talk to Children About Dying and Death
Many people have misgivings when it comes to talking with children about death. Find out what to do about it if it’s something you worry about.
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The most unusual Valentine’s Day present ever!
Everyone has an opinion about Valentine’s Day, but most of us love a gift, no matter what. Find out about a special offer on a gift that will really surprise your loved ones – as well as make their life easier!
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Decluttering
Inspired by the BIG Method, Michael Williams (a BIG Solutions end-of-life planning facilitator) decided to tackle the problem of de-cluttering a lifetime of posessions head-on.
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The Independent – January 2020
My story is included in the Independent’s round-up of readers’ stories of love, adventure, hellos and goodbyes: the years that changed their decade in the 2010s.
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She Magazine – Winter 2019
As we enter a new decade I share my tips for making it meaningful, and planning well for the future, in this online magazine for women.
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Time to get rid of euphemisms about death – or not?
Recently, an article was published in the Guardian on this subject. But is it really time to get rid of euphemisms about death? Could it be that if we do this, we are throwing the baby out with the bathwater? I was intrigued about this idea, and so asked people…
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The Elephant in the Room
Right now, there is probably an elephant in your room, lurking. It’ll be either deeply hidden behind the furniture, or able to be seen but stuck in the corner of the room, or in some cases, it might be right in the middle of the room, and people pass…
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Marrying Yourself After Becoming a Widow: A Beautiful Ritual to Help You Recover
Being left behind takes quite a bit of getting used to, there is no doubt about it. But we can’t bury ourselves in our grief for the rest of our lives. We need to find a way to recover and move on. Some of us choose to remarry, and so did I, although this is a different kind of marriage.
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3 Tips for Making End-Of-Life Talk Easier
How do we bring death out of the closet and into our lives, without the terror? We need to start talking about it again. Here are some pointers to starting a conversation in a world that is afraid of the one thing that statistics say will happen to 100% of us.
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4 tips to dealing with the effects of missing someone you love
Missing your Mum or your Dad after they have died is as natural as anything, especially if they have played a large part in your life, such as if you had been caring for them. The grief comes with a big slam, catches you sideways, and tosses and turns you…
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How Do I Keep Funeral Costs Down?
How do I keep funeral costs down? The perennial question for many. Here’s a familiar story: “I don’t want to pay that amount of money for something I don’t want!” I screamed these words to the funeral director who sat opposite me on the sofa two days after my husband…
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What if You Died Today? 3 Quick (and Powerful!) Steps to Ease the Burden on Your Family
Paradoxically, when we are willing to face the end, we find ourselves able to appreciate being here, now, more fully. In other words, facing the end enables more joy right now; more pleasure and more satisfaction. Find out 3 simple things you can do to get prepared.
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Love-Giver or Love-Taker? 3 Tips for a Healthy Personality Balance
If you had died yesterday, what would you have lived your life as? A love-giver or a love-taker? Are you willing to change your demeanour toward life and try to be more open to giving?
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What’s Age Got To Do With It?
Jane chats to Suzanne Noble chats about her mission to help others to make end of life plans.
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9 Unique Ways to Remember Your Loved Ones
Walking in a beautiful memorial park in Coventry, England, dedicated to the huge numbers of men killed in both World Wars, I felt the peace in the air. Remembrance is an important part of death, and there are lots of ways you can do it
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How do I create a ritual?
I didn’t know what to do – only that it was important to me to do something.”Shall we gather about coffee time tomorrow morning? And each of us say something?” I tentatively suggested…
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7 Things Learnt After Cleaning Out of a Home to Settle an Estate
My Facebook friend Shirley Johnson recently shared her experience of clearing out a family home to settle an estate. Read her valuable experiences and tips for how to avoid unnecessary time and hassle.
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7 ways To Help Maintain Your Independence As You Age
In my recent survey, the issue of being a burden, or maintaining your independence as you age was the one thing that most people mentioned. Find out what you can do right now to help yourself in the future.
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Dead good help for carers
The Forres Gazette showcases Before I Go Solutions’ new social enterprise: Dead Good Cake ‘n Chat.
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How do I let go of unnecessary stuff?
How on earth does anyone ever actually manage to let go of the unnecessary stuff that lies around in the house? I’ve got some suggestions for you…
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Is there such a thing as a good death?
In a world of increasing uncertainty death is one thing we all know for sure will happen. Is there such a thing as a good death?
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Short Video Series on End of Life Planning
In a series of five video chats with Sixty And Me founder Margaret Manning, Jane takes a detailed and sympathetic look at the challenges of making a good end of life plan.
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Death ‘Could’ Happen To You Too!
After my husband died in 2011, I became bound up with the idea that death could happen to me too. If a cancer diagnosis had come out of the blue for him, it could indeed happen to me too. The next thought, on the heels of that one, was ‘what…
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How To Keep Someone Alive In Your Heart
Just because someone dies, does not mean you forget them – on the contrary they stay alive in your heart for as long as you want or need them to. That’s what was happening last week when I attended a charity evening run by Moray Business Women, the local networking…
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Overwhelming feelings at Xmas
Thinking ahead to Christmas Day, or whichever day you celebrate in your faith, overwhelming feelings can easily arise when you think of the empty chair at the meal table; or no need to buy a present any more; or no present to look forward to receiving. Your heart is a…
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When Your Parents Die, What Happens?
Someone said to me recently that when your parents die, if they are old, have led a good life, and are ready to go, then you don’t grieve so much. I have recently discovered both the truth and untruth of this, when my Dad died on 25th September, and then…
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International Therapist Magazine, Autumn 2018
Jane’s article Working With Terminally Ill Clients, First published in International Therapist, the membership magazine of the FHT (www.fht.org.uk). You can read it online here or read the PDF
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Goldie Magazine, Autumn 2018
Jane’s article in a new glossy magazine for the over 40s Click on the pictures to read the article
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When Your Partner Is Dying, What Do You Say?
Here’s an extract from an article I’ve just had published in NextAvenue.org. It contains many helpful suggestions for how to start and maintain a conversation when someone you love is dying, as well as tips on how to prepare well for the end, when it comes. You really are alive…
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Next Avenue Article, October 2018
“End of life conversations bring clarity and comfort” When Your Partner Is Dying What Do You Say? Article by Jane on Next Avenue: public media’s first and only national journalism service for America’s booming older population. You can read it here
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Zestful Aging – with Nicole Christina
A different kind of interview, covering how avoidance of this subject is not working as well as it has done
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What Happens When You Don’t Leave a Will
Aretha Franklin didn’t leave a last will and testament. What was she thinking of? Well, I assume she wasn’t thinking. Her lawyer is reported as saying he spoke to her repeatedly about having a last will and testament or a trust, and she always said she would do it, but…
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Silver Tent Radio with Debra Sofia Magdalene
Listen to Jane talking about positive aspects of death
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Positive Aspects Of Preparing For Death
Today, I’m sharing an interview on Silver Tent Radio with Debra Sofia Magdalene. Listen in if you want to hear: about whether your body is useful, or harmful, in organ donation what living wakes are what death cleaning is and when to start and much more! Click here to listen…
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Life Passion & Business podcast
This podcast is about Jane story it’s about that journey that she went on with her partner Philip, and it’s about what came out of it, and it’s about how you too can discover what it is about yourself that makes his life so valuable.
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Dessert Highland Discs – With Laura Bruce
Those of you in the UK will probably know of the famous Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4; this radio show is similar in format but crucially (and perhaps essentially in the colder climes of a Highland island, PUDDING – ie dessert) – can be taken with you!
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Breakfast With Erica – 12Radio
Listen to a fascinating conversation I had with Erica from Breakfast with Erica on 12radio.
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What Is a Body?
From Before I Go: The Essential Guide to Creating A Good End of Life Plan. Chapter 7: What Is A Body? In many Western countries, when you see a closed coffin at a funeral, it can be a shock. Imagining the person you loved in there is not always a…
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3 tips on how to talk with someone who is dying
Sylvia was becoming more and more frail. It was clear that, though in good spirits, her body was nearing the end of her life. She kept having visits to hospital, and had recently had a fall which had precipitated one of these. But how on earth do we talk with…
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What If You Knew You’d Be the Last To…?
What if you knew you’d be the last to touch someone? If you were taking tickets, for example, at the theatre, tearing them, giving back the ragged stubs, you might take care to touch that palm, brush your fingertips along the life line’s crease. When a man…
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Seven Reasons To Bother Doing an End of Life Plan
1. You fall ill or have an accident, having assumed that your next of kin will be able to take care of you. The term next of kin often means your nearest blood relative. In the case of a married couple or a civil partnership it usually means their husband…
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Why Bother Doing An End Of Life Plan?
Let’s face it, there is never going to be a good time to address anything to do with dying, death or grief. When you’re fit and healthy, the last thing on your mind is the end of your life. However, this is actually the very time to take your head…
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Wills, Weddings and Updating Your Documentation
The royal wedding here in the UK has been a huge topic in the media of all kinds these last few weeks. However, I can bet that hardly anyone has been also talking to Prince Harry and Meghan about a crucial thing that needs to happen when a couple get…
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What Is a ‘Good Death’? – 5 Contributing Factors
What is a good death? How can you tell what the person dying wanted? Here’s my experience when my husband was dying and 5 contributing factors that will help you increase you own chances of a good death. A good death? My husband was lying in the hospital bed. Drains,…
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3 Things to Do When You’re Afraid Of Your Spouse Dying First
It was my greatest fear. Having had no children, the thought of my husband dying first and me being left alone in the world was something I simply couldn’t bear. Even if I had had children, the idea of my best friend, lover, business partner and companion leaving me behind…
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Top Regrets of the Dying – How To Avoid This One
One of the top 5 regrets of the dying is ‘I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings’. Given that we never know when our life is going to come to an end, it’s a really good idea to not only express our feelings, but by doing that,…
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Text of How To Do A Good Death TedX Talk
For anyone who is hard of hearing, or who prefers to read instead of watch a video, here’s the transcript of my Ted X talk, How To Do A Good Death. There’s an elephant in the room. In fact, there’s an elephant in the room in every house in the…
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Bereavement Leave – It Could Be Possible This Becomes Paid
Paid bereavement leave from work? Did you know that employers are obliged to offer compassionate leave, but it doesn’t have to be paid? And yet many bereaved employees return to work well before they feel they are ready, due to financial pressures. Grief Recovery Method have launched a petition asking…
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