Dying matters is a national campaign to encourage people to talk about death, dying, end of life plans including funeral wishes and organ donation.

Talking about death and dying won’t make it happen any sooner, but not talking about it won’t make it go away. To help people start the big conversation we’ve suggested some titles, but we have many more in stock.

Having the big conversation can help you to live well and make the most of life until the very end.

The essential guide to life after bereavement: beyond tomorrow

by Judy Carole Kauffman

The period following the death of a loved one can be a time of great turmoil. This book acts as a helpful and supportive road map through the initial stages

Coping with your partner’s death: your bereavement guide by Geoff Billings

During the very difficult and stressful period following your partner’s death, you are left to face a great many changes and some very difficult times alone or with little help. But life can be rebuilt, and this practical, sympathetic guide shows how.

Goodbye Grandma: helping young children cope with bereavement by Melanie Walsh

When a little boy is told that his grandma has died, he isn’t really sure what death means. In this reassuring lift-the-flap book with bold and colourful illustrations, he asks his mum important questions about death and bereavement. Why do people have to die? What happens to them once they are dead? What can he do to remember his grandma?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dealing with death, funerals, wills and bereavement: what to do when someone dies: a practical guide by Roger Jones

This is a reference guide to what to do when someone dies. The text allows the reader to handle what is already a difficult process, make decisions with greater confidence and clarity, and be prepared for the practicalities surrounding a loss

The nation’s favourite poems of remembrance

In this 10th collection in the ‘Nation’s Favourite’ series over 100 poems by Britain’s best poets are brought together on the theme of remembrance to offer solace, scope for reflection and inspiration

The lovely bones: a novel by Alice Sebold

A huge bestseller in America, this is a novel about life and death, forgiveness and vengeance, memory and forgetting. 14-year-old Susie Salmon, now dead, looks down on her family and friends from heaven.

PS, I love you by Cecelia Ahern

Holly and Gerry have a running joke – that she’d never cope without him. When Gerry dies of a brain tumour, Holly’s life falls apart. She cannot see how to go on. But then she receives a package from Gerry – a letter, with a pile of envelopes. Each envelope contains ‘to do’ lists for each month.

We need to talk about grief: how to be a friend to the one who’s left behind by Annie Broadbent

When Annie Broadbent was just 25 her mum died of cancer. One of the hardest, and least expected, aspects of the whole experience was the way in which support from friends and family (verbal, practical and emotional) was so often varied and inadequate. We don’t have a language to help people suffering from grief and we often shy away from discussing death altogether. Frustrated with seeing family and friends paralysed by their fear of death, and their reluctance to talk about it, Annie decided to share her own experience of grief and the stories of others as a way to help shed some light on the darkest moments in life.

60 postcards: the inspirational story of a young woman’s journey to celebrate her mother, one postcard at a time by Rachael Chadwick

The heartfelt and uplifting story of how a project to scatter 60 postcards in memory of her mother helped a young girl come to terms with her loss.

Cleo: how a small black cat helped heal a family by Helen Brown

‘Cleo’ is an uplifting book about love, loss and redemption. It’s also a book about a small black feline who helped bring a family even closer together by sheer force of her cat personality.

 

Billy, me & you: a memoir of grief and recovery by Nicola Streeten

What happens when a child dies? This title presents bereavement and recovery in graphic novel form – perceptive, funny and moving all at once.