As part of the national Dying To Know campaign this August, local independent death worker, end-of-life consultant and artist Hayley West will be giving talks at the Kyneton and Castlemaine Libraries on the topic of ‘Reimaging Death’.
Dying To Know aims to inspire you to begin to prepare for the inevitable, not with fear, but with purpose, love and a sense of legacy.
Hayley hosts DEAD AIR on 94.9 MainFM and is a member of the Natural Death Advocacy Network and Australian Home Funeral Alliance.
Through her business The Departure, she provides equitable, sustainable and affordable end-of-life care, empowering the community to create meaningful farewells. She has been working in the space for 15 years and also hosted the Castlemaine Death Cafe for 10 years.
Her projects, presentations and collaborations promote death literacy, reframing mortality as a natural and shared experience.
Hayley’s presentations on Thursday August 14 at Kyneton Library 2pm-3pm and Castlemaine Library 5.30pm-6.30pm will be discussing how can we approach death with creativity, care and a lighter footprint. Explore meaningful alternatives, from living wakes to natural burials and end-of-life rituals, in this thought-provoking talk. Discover how we, as a community, can reshape our relationship with death.
Hayley said the sessions were focused on normalising the conversation around death and encouraging people to make a plan and ensure their wishes were known.
“Death can be really difficult for family to navigate without being faced with big decisions such as whether you want to be buried or cremated,” she said.
“Making these wishes known, creating playlists, or organising a plan for after-death care and whether you want a funeral, memorial service or celebration, or something simpler, can alleviate some of the pressure and stress on loved ones.
“Direct cremation is becoming more popular, but many families want an opportunity to celebrate their loved one’s life. We are very fortunate to have a broad choice in Victoria from conventional funerals through to environmentally friendly shroud burials at a natural burial site.
“As part of the discussion, we will also touch on the subject of wills, advance care directives and living wills.”
In the lead up to Dying To Know Day on August 8, Hayley will also be participating in the Death Doula Hub Expo that’s happening this Saturday August 2 at Northern Arts Hotel Castlemaine from 10am-3pm.
“I’ll be taking part in a panel discussion and there will be lots of stalls and information available at this free event,” she said.
You will also be able to catch Hayley and her vintage 90s hearse in the Australian Hearse Nationals parade, which is part of the Goldfields Gothic: Festival of Dark Ideas in Maldon this Sunday August 3 at 10.30am.
For tickets to the events at Goldfields Libraries, visit goldfieldslibraries.com
To catch Hayley’s past episodes of DEAD AIR, tune in to www.hayleywest.com.au/radio
