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Blog posts - Precious Time

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Ali Shaheed Muhammad is an American hip hop DJ, record producer, and rapper, best known as a member of A Tribe Called Quest. 
In this fascinating, reflective and deeply humane conversation, he talks about the deaths of his grandmother, his father – an Imam who worked in the US prison sentence – his artistic collaborator, Phife Dawg, and … a pet salamander. 



A rapper’s thoughts on kicking it

The wedding and travel plans of Fleur Pierets were destroyed when her wife was diagnosed with multiple brain tumours. In this article in The Guardian, she talks about love, loss and the celebration of a life well-lived.

A moment that changed me: my wife and I had resolved to marry 22 times. Her death was devastating

“Palliative care provides a time to ask some usually taboo questions,” writes Western Australian researcher Samar Aoun. “What kind of death do you want to experience? Who is in your personal network? How will they respond to your life ending? What kind of support can they offer?”
Read more in her story in The Conversation.



What actually is palliative care? And how is it different to end-of-life care?

Around 500 people, mostly in the US, have paid huge amounts of money to be frozen at death in the hope that one day the technology will exist to bring them back to life. Alas, as Laurie Clarke reports in MIT Technology Review, it’s a hope placed much more in science fiction than science fact.

Can you be frozen at death, and brought back in the future?

US writer Amy Ettinger is dying from a rare and aggressive cancer. The diagnosis shocked, confused and angered her, but on reflection, she told The Washington Post, she has no regrets about the life she has lived.

Looking back and smiling as early death approaches


Recently, researchers at Flinders University in South Australia created a free easy-to-read booklet on dealing with grief and loss when someone dies in aged care. It is based on a mixture of health expert advice and the lessons drawn from people who have been through the process of mourning such a passing. 

Booklet contains useful advice on grief and loss for families when someone dies in aged care 

“Grief is the most powerful experience because at its heart is love,” writes Perth-based editor and writer Margaret McNally. “Grief endures because our love endures.”

Almost two years after my husband’s death I’m still grieving – but I’m also living in his honour

“A full explanation for the conscious experiences of dying people remains elusive,” writes journalist Jordan Kinard in Scientific American. 

 Inside the locked room: the last living moments of the mind

It's common for people who discover they have a life-limiting condition to want to go on a bucket list holiday, but can you still get travel insurance? Yes, says 'Escape' writer Doc Holiday.

Can a person with a terminal illness get travel insurance?

When a person develops a life-limiting and debilitating condition such as dementia, the responsibility for caring for them is very often assumed by a family member.  

Who cares for the carers? 

People with cancer comprise the largest category of people admitted to hospital for palliative care, according to a new report published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

New report paints a picture of palliative care in Australia

Older people aren’t the only ones to have their lives shortened by dementia. It’s little discussed but in Australia childhood dementia takes more lives than childhood cancer. For young people with one of several rare genetic diseases that affect the brain, the prospects are bleak – and the toll on parents is enormous. 

When children develop dementia

American philosopher Paul Woodruff knows his death is near, but his focus is very much on living.

“There’s nothing wrong with dying. All the best people in history have done it.” 

There are some things we just don’t talk about. In Australia dying and death remain two of them.  However, get-togethers known as Death Cafes provide opportunities for the curious to meet like-minded people to discuss lots of questions and issues around the end of life.  

A nice cup of coffee and a chat about dying 

Barbara Karnes is a palliative care nurse in Canada, who specialises in explaining the dying process to patients, families and carers. There are, she says, “new rules” to managing and understanding the patient experience at the end of life – rules that see the final stage of life as social and cultural rather than medical. Dying, she says, is not a medical process.

How to understand the end of life  

The boundary between life and death can be surprisingly blurry. Knowing when a loved one has truly passed away is important for the grieving and recovery process of family and friends. How, then, is death defined? 

How do doctors define death? 

Knowing that their death is approaching, many people want to spend the time left to them in their own home, surrounded and supported by family and friends. 

This is both legal and possible, but it is important to make sure a few important agreements are in place and in writing.


What to expect when a loved one wants to die at home

Natural or “green” burials in Australia are growing in popularity, but are not yet available everywhere. Cemeteries and councils have different regulations – and even different definitions of what constitutes an environmentally sustainable burial. 



Natural burials in Australia

Choices about end-of-life matters are hard enough, but what if you are no longer able to speak for yourself? With something called ‘advanced care planning’, everyone can make their wishes known. 

Making sure your treatment choices are honoured

If you need end-of-life care, this website has been created to support you, your friends and family.

I’ve received an end of life diagnosis


The news that a loved one or friend is dying is devastating, and the decision to devote time to caring for them is momentous.  

I’m caring for someone with a life-limiting illness

It’s difficult to know what to say to someone who is bereaved, or even whether to say anything at all. 





What not to say to someone who is grieving 

What happens to our physical remains when we die? How does nature take its course – and how is that affected by our choices about how we are treated after death? 

How to read about death without crying 

All cultures and religions have rituals of one sort or another, and those around death are particularly important and widespread. 

From mummification to sky burials: why we need death rituals 

Receiving an end-of-life diagnosis is shattering. But the impact is one that can be shared, and help is available from the first moment onwards. For body and mind, there are professionals available for patients, family, and carers, throughout the journey. 

Finding help in the first dark days

When a loved one receives an end-of-life diagnosis it is profoundly shocking. This is not only for the person, but also for family, carers, and friends. However, there are many services available for people caring for someone who is terminally ill. 

Enduring the grief that comes before you grieve

Death is something that many cultures stay silent about. In this article from The Conversation author and academic Dr Steve Taylor explains why thinking about death and accepting that it is always around us helps us to see life more clearly.

Death and the pursuit of happiness 

For people who have lost a loved one, and those close to them, looking at what lies beneath the immediate sorrow can help ease the pain. One thing that can emerge from expressing grief is, perhaps surprisingly, poetry, bringing a kind of gentle, bittersweet beauty. 

Finding beauty in grief 

As the modern world becomes increasingly aware of humanity’s impact on the environment, funeral practices are starting to become greener.

Theology and doing without a casket 

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