A Heartfelt Undertaking

Book

A Heartfelt Undertaking

Exploring death care, ceremony, and what is possible at end of life.

In 2019 Bec Lyons travelled to six countries on a Churchill Fellowship. She was researching the human relationship to death and ceremony through alternative approaches and technologies. It was a huge effort and this book is the result.

Through an extensive process of interviews and site visits, Bec met with and learned from people who are doing death differently – from funeral directors to doulas to health professionals, and everyone in between. This book aims to document what is happening around the world, what is under development, and what is new to the end of life space. – and how it all might work in Australia.

Rich with personal reflections, this book will give you a detailed insight into what is possible at end of life, what options are emerging and how they fit into an Australian context.

Awarded a Silver Medal in the 2023 Independent Publisher Book Awards in the Australia/New Zealand – Best Regional Non-Fiction Category.

A Heartfelt Undertaking book award
A Heartfelt Undertaking book cover

Find the book

Read reviews or purchase a copy through the links below.

Reader Reviews

Reflections from readers interested in death care, ceremony, grief, and alternative approaches to end-of-life practice.

Amy

★★★★★

An insightful read on how funerals and burials are conducted in different countries, followed by constructive recommendations on how these services can be improved in Australia given the ageing population. Furthermore, transformation of how 'funerals' can be viewed. Often funerals/burials are conduc...

Amanda

★★★★★

This report for the Churchill Fellowship is anything but dry. If you’re “death-curious”, and want to get a glimpse into various death cultures, including some of the latest alternatives, this book will fascinate you, wherever you are in the world. There are plenty of photos as well as accounts of pr...

Jennifer Deaton

★★★★★

This book is a fabulous read, insightful and well written. Touches of the writers personality that are well placed to mitigate a taboo topic and gives insight into her journey to write this book. I use this book in my Death Doulaship work, it truly is a great resource, highly recommend.

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