Open conversations on life and death

End-of-life doulas and other guests gathered in Beechworth from around the North East region for an afternoon of honest conversation and song to mark the nation’s annual Dying to Know Day on Saturday hosted by the Good2Go Collective. An annual campaign ‘Dying to Know Day’ around the nation every August encourages Australian adults at all stages of life to take action or hold events to improve their knowledge around end-of-life choices. The campaign led by Sydney-based Proveda - with an extensive range of services - has brought Australians together for the last 13 years to start conversations about death, dying and grief. Albury-based end-of-life doula Genevieve Doyle from the Good2Go Collective welcomed guests to a lunch at the Ford Street Enoteca for ‘Death in the Afternoon’. She said the campaign held on 8 August every year encouraged open conversations about death, dying, grief, and end-of-life planning. “Dying to Know Days are about promoting meaningful end-of-life wishes, and what is being encouraged this year is to think about what a final song you would like to have playing at your memorial, funeral, wake or whatever it might be,” she said. Beechworth end-of-life doula Nicole Parker from the Good2Go Collective said it is important for people to have conversations with families. “It’s important for families to know what is wanted,” she said. Wangaratta end-of-life doula Merry Sae-Lam said getting death literacy out into the world is a mission. “We start a ripple effect undertaking these events and we had a phenomenal energy in the room today,” she said. “Strangers that didn't know each other now know each other on a different level, and that's what death does and in a way it brings us all together." End-of-life doula Helen Sieker from Mansfield said she undertook training about 10 years ago. Helen said she has come full circle from working in paediatrics and as an early childhood nurse to looking after parents and now as a volunteer end-of-life doula. “Today has brought people from diverse communities together with different cultures too,” she said. With this year’s Dying to Know Day having a focus on people to think about a last song, three singers Tess Lewis, Rose Sexton, and Pen Larkins joined together as ‘The Ravens’ entertaining the group with songs of love and loss. Wangaratta’s end-of-life doula Rose Sexton, her sister Tess from Geelong and friend Pen from Port Arlington, had been a trio singing together since the 1990s but disbanded at the beginning of 2024. “Using arts is a wonderful way to sneak past the intellect and connect with emotions,” Rose said. The afternoon also included a light-hearted and respectful Euphemism Olympics and Death Trivia. Good2Go Collective, established in 2024 is a group of end-of-life doulas living and working in the Albury-Wodonga border region. The group is united by a shared vision to reshape the narrative around death, dying, grief and loss.

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