#37 Choice is meaningless unless you know all the options with Holly Lyon Hawke holistic funeral director

In this episode it is my absolute pleasure to talk with Holly Lyon Hawke, a multi award winning holistic funeral director. I learn the difference between the process and ceremony of a funeral, what a true natural burial is and hear about the innovative work Holly does with pets as well as her book aimed at supporting children with the process of death and dying.

Talking with Holly was eye opening and I think will be the first of many conversations we have as I learn about the choices we have in caring for those we love even after death.

Key messages from guest

• Holly describes how she supports families from beginning of diagnosis to after the funeral

• Holly talks about bringing humanity to her work

• Being present with the space and pain of grief is discussed by Holly

• Being freelance means that Holly can work wherever people need her to be

• With the inception of the NHS more and more people died in hospital, with families losing the wisdom of dying

• Holly explains the difference between the process and ceremony of funerals and the choices we have

• Holly describes exactly what a natural burial is

• Pet grief is explored by Holly, identifying the often unrecognised feelings that can accompany the death of a pet

• Direct cremations are explained by Holly

Resources

• Find out more about Holly’s work website 

• Find out more about Nurture Days mentioned by Holly

• Find out more about the The Natural Death Centre 

• Access Holly’s book A Gentle Goodbye with Cinnamon the Rabbit 

• Find out more about Stag Direct Cremations

• Downloadable weekly guide for self care

Bio

Holly Lyon-Hawk is a multi-award-winning Holistic Funeral Director and End of Life Practitioner for both people and for pets, bringing love, connection, time, choice and space back to the sacredness that is life and death.

Find out more about my Bespoke Consultancy

• Service analysis for teams seeking to improve EoLC or prepare for CQC

• End of Life Care Education

• Lasting Power of Attorney Consultancy

• Talks and presentations

If you’d like to find out more about my work contact me.

What one thing will you do?

It would be great to share what resonated with you from this episode, what is the one thing you will do differently? Head to Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn to continue these important conversations.

Thanks to all my guests for working with me to share their knowledge, experience and stories about Advance Care Planning. I hope you enjoyed listening and have insights to take away; I love hearing your reflections on the series and look forward to reviews on Spotify where you can also subscribe to the series.

Clare

Important Conversations about Important Conversations.