Today’s guest refers to herself as an end of life guide, an end of life companion and a funeral celebrant.
Michelle comes to the death and dying industry with a wealth of knowledge and experience. She has completed studies in both grief and loss and was a funeral director before becoming a funeral and memorial celebrant.
Michelle has worked behind the scenes in palliative care as both a volunteer and communications and fundraising manager for The Mary Potter Hospice in Adelaide, with tertiary studies in Fundraising and Business Management. She now successfully owns and operates her own business and remains a strong advocate for palliative and end of life care.
Michelle believes everyone should have the opportunity to have their story heard and told, and believes her role as a funeral celebrant is really being a ‘story teller of human magic’. She works closely with bereaved families helping them to orchestrate beautiful heartfelt, personalised and meaningful farewells, and is experienced and adept at customs associated with many cultures and beliefs. Being a practising Buddhist herself, she sees her involvement as karmic and an absolute privilege. Michelle is also blessed to guide those experiencing terminal illness and facing end of life, support and education, helping them acknowledge their life and prepare and accept their death.
Michelle realised early on in her career as a funeral celebrant that as a community we don’t do death particularly well, and we do it even less well with our children. If that all doesn’t keep her busy enough, Michelle is the proud Mum of five young men, and a wife to her very patient, gracious and supportive husband, Richard. She believes that life’s not a dress rehearsal, and that we only get one shot at it, so she chooses to live a life that makes her leap out of bed every single day. She enjoys juggling an extremely busy yet organised chaotic life, on the basis that ‘she’ll sleep when she’s dead’.
Michelle has recently published a children’s picture book called The Present Box, which explains death, grief, loss and funerals to young children.
And at the recent Wake Up conference, she has just launched her new online program that will help you to embrace the challenges of capturing your life and planning your death, called Your Emotional Will. It normally costs $199.95 but as Get Invested listeners you can get yours for only half of that at just $99.95. So if you’d like a discounted copy, just email me at [email protected] with the subject header ‘Living and Dying by Design’.
Listen to the full interview here.
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