Go With Grace

24/12/2025

Podcasts to help support and acknowledge grief these holidays

For those who have lost a loved one, the holiday season can elevate feelings of grief and loneliness at a time when the world expects joy. We've compiled these podcasts as something you may want to share with someone who is grieving, in the hope they find some comfort and connection through these shared stories and conversations.

🎙Grief in Common – How do you cope with grief at Christmas?
🎙Good Mourning – Coping with Christmas: Advice and Stories for Grievers
🎙Good Grief – 11 Truths About Grief at Christmas: What No One Talks About
🎙Okay, Now What Podcast – Coping with Grief During the Holiday Season
🎙Grief Out Loud Podcast - How Grief Is To Feel, Not Fix — Even at the Holidays
🎙Grief Out Loud Podcast - It’s Okay That It’s Not the Same – Grief at the Holidays

Explore podcasts: https://gowithgrace.nz/resources/podcasts/grief-in-the-holiday-season/

21/12/2025

** New Podcast**
Sovereign Departures: Helping People Face Mortality With Compassion

In this episode, Katy talks to Sherie Sullivan from Sovereign Departures. Sherie helps individuals and whānau navigate dying, death and grief in her varied roles, as end-of-life doula, death coach, family-led funeral guide and community death-literacy educator.

Sherie shares beautiful insights into how she supports people to understand their true values and let go of fear so they can safely face their mortality and plan ahead with clarity and compassion.

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1rp5Z0MSiNTJeKfCM8N9rA?si=wyV3twb8T8CKKDAz0OHmkw

20/12/2025

** NEW PODCAST**
The Impacts of Grief in the Workplace: Creating Compassionate Leaders

In this episode, Katy talks to Judi Johnson, founder of Grief support- Embrace Your Future, an organisation dedicated to reshaping the way leaders and workplaces understand, respond to, and integrate grief awareness into their cultures. Through her webinars and leadership training, Judi helps organisations build compassionate and psychologically safe environments where grief is acknowledged rather than avoided, and where people leaders have the tools and confidence to support staff through some of life’s hardest moments.

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2utQWH108gP6157OHPJ4vC?si=5c6565c4a46f4e61

18/12/2025

🎄 Give the Gift of Compassion This Christmas 🎄

As the year draws to a close, the festive season can be a time of connection and celebration but for many, it can also bring grief, loneliness, and quiet reflection. Loss, caring responsibilities, and changed traditions can feel heavier when the world expects joy.
In our latest article, we reflect on why compassion matters more than ever at this time of year, and share simple, meaningful ways we can support one another in our homes, workplaces, and communities.

👉 Read more: https://gowithgrace.nz/gwg-news/give-the-gift-of-compassion-this-christmas/

16/12/2025

🎄 New for Christmas: My Legacy Table Mats!

Bring your family closer at Christmas this year with this fun way to spark meaningful conversations and capture the stories that matter most. It's a great way to help the generations around the table learn a little more about each other 🥰

Download, print, and pop them on your Christmas table to start recording your own legacy and sharing memories together. ❤️

Conversation starters on the placemat include:

As a child I dreamed of…
My favourite childhood memories are of…
I am most proud of…
I am most grateful for…
I would like to be remembered as being…
Something people might not know about me is…
My favourite place to go to find peace is…
Life lessons I’d like to share…

👉 Get your free printable My Legacy Table Mats at https://gowithgrace.nz/product/my-legacy-table-mats/

14/12/2025

What’s a Christmas tradition you keep to honour the memories of your loved ones?

Maybe it’s cooking a favourite recipe, visiting a special place, playing a game they loved, or wearing their favourite colour.

We’d love to hear the ways you keep those memories alive during the holiday season.
Share your tradition in the comments - big or small, every story helps remind others they’re not alone. ❤️🌲

13/12/2025

For those of you who get a well deserved break over the summer, it can be a chance to step back from life and get a fresh perspective on some of those bigger human topics like ageing and end of life.

Explore our Go With Grace Summer Reading List and dive into stories that gently open the door to gentle conversations, reflection, compassion and connection.

Have you read any of the books below? We’d love to hear what you think. 💛

📘Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
📘Listen by Kathryn Mannix
📘What to Do When I’m Gone by Suzy Hopkins
📘The Coffin Confessor by Bill Edgar

Find out more about each book on our website at https://gowithgrace.nz/gwg-news/summer-reading-list-2025/

11/12/2025

If someone you love is grieving, our Go With Grace Memories & Milestones Calendar is a beautiful and thoughtful gift - especially at a time of year that can feel tender for many.

Featuring hand-drawn seasonal flowers, each page is paired with gentle, grounding quotes to help honour, remember, and celebrate loved ones through every season of life.

The calendar has no dates, so it can be used year after year - a timeless place to record the moments that matter most: birthdays, anniversaries, and other significant dates. Inspired by our own journeys of love and loss, we hope it brings comfort, connection, and a sense of gentle companionship to yours.

✨ Free shipping NZ-wide
🛒 Order here: https://gowithgrace.nz/product/memories-milestones-calendar/

25/11/2025

🎥NEW VIDEO: Creative Funerals and Natural Deathcare

This informative and myth-busting conversation with Jo Samuel from A Graceful Undertaking about after death care and funerals was part of Dying Matters Week Aotearoa 2025.

Watch to find out who the women of A Graceful Undertaking are, what makes them different and why they’re doing what they’re doing. Enjoy a lively discussion about how we can stay engaged in caring for our own after death, natural options for caring for a body, home funerals and what it takes to create a unique, personalised, family led funeral.

On the Go With Grace website at https://gowithgrace.nz/product/creative-funerals-natural-deathcare/

24/11/2025

Lee-Anne Duncan from the Too Young project recently shared her childhood recollections of the loss of her Mum with us. 💜

Lee-Anne has created a book and website to share the stories of adults who had a parent die when they were still children. The stories are aimed at bringing comfort in a shared experience to other once-bereaved children, but they also allow adults around grieving children a glimpse of what that child might be thinking, feeling, and want to be supported.

Read Lee-Anne's story at

Lee-Anne Duncan was nine when her mother died after five years battling leukaemia. Forty-four years later, Lee-Anne has created a book and website to share the stories of adults who had a parent die when they were still children. As she writes here, her aim is to reveal what it’s like to be a bere...

16/11/2025

Planning ahead isn’t just about paperwork — it’s about peace of mind.

Our Go With Grace website journey, Getting Your Affairs in Order, helps you think about ageing and end-of-life. Taking time to plan ahead helps you and your loved ones have meaningful conversations early, reducing uncertainty and stress when important decisions need to be made.

From Advance Care Plans and Wills to Powers of Attorney, financial planning, living arrangements, and future care needs — you’ll find clear guidance to help you and your loved ones plan ahead with confidence.

💬 You might also like our video series with Tanya Newman, “Getting Your Ducks in a Row,” exploring where to live, home care options, and planning for later life.

Take the first step toward clarity and comfort — for you and those you love.
https://gowithgrace.nz/getting-affairs-in-order/

13/11/2025

Our refreshed website was created to meet you wherever you are on your journey with death, dying, and grief.

We’ve introduced new ‘journeys’, providing gentle pathways to help you find what you need, whether you’re:
🌼 Getting Affairs in Order
🌿 Planning a Farewell
💛 Caring for a Loved One
🕊️ Grieving a Loved One

Each journey brings together the most helpful information, including resources, books, podcasts, events, and local connections — all curated to guide and support you.

You’ll also find:
- A new For Healthcare section — practical tools and community connections for those working in care.
- A For Business space — opportunities for companies across Aotearoa to connect, collaborate, and give back locally.

Take your time, explore, and discover what’s new at www.gowithgrace.nz.