Go With Grace

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.

12/11/2025

We’re celebrating our 2nd birthday with something special — a beautiful new Go With Grace website! 🎉✨

It’s hard to believe it’s only been two years since we first launched our site. In that time, we’ve had so many wonderful conversations, connections, and community moments across Aotearoa. 💛

Our new and improved website brings everything together in one warm, welcoming space — easier to use, more accessible, and filled with new resources, stories, and ways to connect.

This redesign was shaped by your feedback — from conversations at events like Dying Matters Week Aotearoa to the insights you’ve shared about what really helps when facing death, dying, and grief. Thank you for helping us grow. 🙏

Explore the new site and celebrate with us:
👉 www.gowithgrace.nz

11/11/2025

Thank you to the True North podcast team for opening space for this important kōrero. We’re grateful for the opportunity to share why talking about death — with honesty, courage and compassion — matters so deeply and how Northland businesses can adapt to be more compassionate, supportive workplaces.💛
Listen to the episode at https://open.spotify.com/episode/7zBOQ6eWhxHTbDECB2CVop?si=twD7okppQxWfW6O94EDymw

This week’s episode of the True North podcast has dropped. In it we speak with Whangārei business owner Katy Mandeno about Go With Grace, a Northland-based initiative she founded that guides and supports New Zealanders through their experiences with death and dying – a topic that she says Kiwis don’t deal with and prepare for anywhere near enough.

So how do we take the ‘yuk’ out of conversations about death? Why should we? How can those facing death face it with courage? And what gifts can grief bestow? This episode is a fascinating ramble through topics often considered too tough to tackle.

Katy talks about the personal tragedies that led to her setting up Go With Grace, the different approaches to talking about death that can create a gulf between those facing it and those who will be left behind, and the challenges facing business and community leaders when it comes to giving people the space they need to deal with grief.

Make sure to catch the full conversation through any of the links below. And if you haven’t subscribed to the pod yet, please consider joining the growing number of Northland business and community leaders who are doing so. Thank you! ^PH

09/11/2025

Katy from Go With Grace joined the True North Podcast recently for a conversation about death and dying. A huge thank-you to Peter for the opportunity to share the story of Go With Grace and talk about how we can build more compassionate communities and businesses. 💛
Keep an eye out for the episode which drops this Wednesday 12th November. You can follow the The True North podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/1IrXZb3BrRDfLZZX6lPzIt?si=a9359b682ed5473f

21/10/2025

🌸 GIVEAWAY TIME! 🌸

At Go With Grace, we’ve created something truly special — our Memories & Milestones Calendar.
Each page features hand-drawn flowers in bloom, paired with gentle quotes to help you honour and celebrate your loved ones through every season of life. 💐

This beautiful calendar is undated, so you can use it year after year — a timeless space to record the moments that matter most, whether joyful or sorrowful, beginnings or farewells.

Inspired by our own journeys of love and loss, we hope it brings comfort and connection to yours. ❤️

✨ Want to win one?
Simply like and share this post to go in the draw to win your own Go With Grace Memories & Milestones Calendar!



Order online at

At Go With Grace, we’ve created a perpetual calendar featuring a series of hand-drawn flowers in bloom to honour and celebrate your loved ones. Use it year after year to record your important memories and milestones, whether they be happy or sad ones.

03/10/2025

Another insightful podcast from Belinda Leaving Legacies NZ .

What is water cremation and why did it take nearly seven years to bring it to Aotearoa?

In this episode, Belinda speaks with Debbie Richards, a former nurse and midwife who helped legalise water cremation in New Zealand. Her goal was to create a gentler, more sustainable and more affordable option for families at the end of life.

Debbie explains how water cremation works, what makes it so different and why this option is growing in popularity around the world. She also shares the deeply personal story behind her fight to bring this to life and what it took to get there.
If you're thinking about legacy, climate, or what it means to care even after someone has died, this conversation is for you.
Water Cremation Aotearoa New Zealand

Now streaming on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/33XjtCuoVGbr4zsRki8eF4

02/10/2025

A great article by Sarah Campbell-Simpson about the stretched state of palliative care services in New Zealand.

This week (September 1 - 7) is Dying Matters Week Aotearoa. Our palliative care services are worsening - could death doulas improve...

26/09/2025

This free talk on Assisted Dying was part of Dying Matters Week Aotearoa 2025.

Dr Gary Payinda joined us for an open and informative session on assisted dying in Aotearoa. His talk covered common questions, clarified the process, and provided space for thoughtful discussion.

Watch the video at https://gowithgrace.nz/product/assisted-dying-talk/

25/09/2025

This free talk on ‘The importance of end of life planning’ was recorded as part of Dying Matters Week Aotearoa 2025.

Go With Grace Founder, Katy Mandeno talks about her own grief journey and learnings from significant losses in her life. This is a free, gentle and practical session on why end-of-life planning matters. Katy guides participants through key steps to consider — from wills and funeral wishes to how to begin meaningful conversations with whānau.

Whether you’re planning for yourself or supporting a loved one, Katy’s compassionate approach helps make a difficult subject easier to navigate.

Watch the video at https://gowithgrace.nz/product/the-importance-of-end-of-life-planning/