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Death

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Thinking about death may help us derive more pleasure and purpose from our time on earth.

The secret to a happier life may be remembering that you’re going to die

Research shows thinking about death may help us derive more pleasure and purpose from our finite time on earth.

  • Lauren Ironmonger

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Brendan and Melissa Coburn

My beloved husband has died. I’ll never hear him say ‘hello beautiful’ again

I lost the love of my life after a heroic battle with cancer. What happens now?

  • Melissa Coburn
Eleanor Bryant’s husband Tim with their two children Charlie and Tully, now aged 13 and 11.

Eleanor was brave in her final act. It gives her family strength to carry on

In November 2024, Eleanor Bryant died defending children when a truck ran into a preschool. Her widower, Tim Bryant, speaks about what life has been like since.

  • Cassandra Morgan
Kerry Milligan, 72, said death is the most inevitable thing about life but most people don’t plan for it.

‘Don’t wait til 2am in a hospital corridor’: The five questions every adult needs to ask their parents

Kerry Milligan can joke about death. These questions stumped her in the best way.

  • Kate Aubusson
RBA Governor Michele Bullock

RBA needs sharp tools not a rates blunt axe

By increasing interest rates to combat inflation, the Reserve Bank forces families to pay more for mortgages and makes living costs tougher for everyone.

Persafoni Pavlidis, Jim Pavlidis’ mother, pictured in her photo ID in 1962, the year before she left Greece for Melbourne on the ship Patris.

The night my mother died, she gave me a gift that changed everything

I’ve always felt guilt about Mum’s life, not out of a sense of personal responsibility for her hardship, but because there was never a chance that her potential could flourish.

  • Jim Pavlidis
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Nick Panagiotopoulos, who died in 2021 following a long wait for an ambulance, and his wife Belinda.

‘His death could have been prevented’: Coroner finds 000 system designed to save Nick failed him

When Nick Panagiotopoulos began to feel sharp pains in his chest, he did what so many other Australians do in an emergency – he called Triple Zero. 

  • Melissa Cunningham
Beloved broadcaster James Valentine held a living wake in February, with several hundred friends and family.

‘Give me your love, so I can take it with me’: James Valentine’s living funeral

The beloved musician and broadcaster was celebrated in a living wake in February, yet many Australians still don’t know about this creative approach to end-of-life.

  • Lauren Ironmonger and Garry Maddox
ABC radio broadcaster and musician James Valentine has died aged 64.

Thank you, James Valentine, for being upfront about this great taboo

For thousands of people facing the same fear, James modelled how to be alive while facing death.

  • Andrew Denton
Veteran ABC Radio host James Valentine in 2021; the presenter has died age 64.

‘It was beautiful’: In his last hours, James Valentine delivered one final performance

The much-loved broadcaster’s wife, clinical psychologist Joanne Corrigan, talks movingly about his farewell to family.

  • Garry Maddox