In 2022 Katherine Dunell lost her husband Brett after a long battle with melanoma.

In this beautiful chat we talk about

-Dealing with the reality that her husband was leaving,

-Dealing with her grief and how staying off alcohol helped her process the grief and to be there for her kids as they navigate this huge change.

-Having an alcohol free funeral and how that created a boundary for her and the kids.

Kat had a strong practice of "musts" which included remembering to have gratitude, and the most basic things like sleep, or remembering to eat.

As Kat says there is not right or wrong way to grieve. We hope that by sharing her story that it may offer some hope and support for people that are going through grief.

Kat created a fundraising page for the Melanoma Institute Australia in Brett's name after he died to raise funds for research into melanoma instead of receiving flowers. The page has so far raised 28k. 

She also raised a further 8k by organising the first Melanoma March in Geelong, link below.

https://inmemory.melanoma.org.au/page/BrettAndrewSmith

Another charity Kat would like to support is a local Geelong based charity Wombats Wish they run bereavement camps for families after the death of a parent in Victoria. 

https://wombatswish.org.au/donate/

The book I mentioned by Zenith Virago, The Intimacy Of Death And Dying.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Intimacy-Death-Dying-guidance-through/dp/1741758947

The book I mention at the end

The Smell of Rain on Dust, Grief and Praise - by Martin Prechtel

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