Living Loss

Julia is a Filipino/Fijian migrant who moved from Indonesia to Australia aged 14... and lost her mother three days before her 17th birthday. The 23-year-old shares her story of navigating the grief of her mother's death in her Pentecostal Church, and how she felt it swallowed up her personal loss. In an extra episode for the Living Loss series, Catriona Stirrat speaks to Julia about how culture can sometimes clash with our grief journey, as well as the differences between Australian and Indonesian grief practices.

Uncle Michael Welsh is a Wailwan man and member of the Stolen Generations. The 71-year-old shares his story of grief and healing; how he used alcohol and violence to suppress the trauma and abuse he says he confronted at Kinchela Boys home, before finally finding safety and comfort to share his story among other men who were subject to the same trauma. In an extra episode for the Living Loss series, Catriona Stirrat speaks to Uncle Michael about his journey with The Healing Foundation's Stolen Generations Reference Group, and how he navigates grief.

We have heard a variety of grief journeys, both universal and unique in their experiences. In this episode, we explore how we can enrich our support networks through broadening our understanding of the rituals and diverse grief responses of individuals and their cultures.

For refugees and asylum-seekers grief is often a multi-layered experience. In many cases, they are navigating the loss of family, home and identity, all while trying to forge a new reality.

We’ve explored how culture can be a source of comfort and healing during the grieving process, but it can also be difficult to navigate one’s culture following a loss. In this episode, we look at how people can sometimes find aspects of their culture fail to meet their needs during this time, or challenge their individual grief experience

In this episode of Living Loss, we explore the concept of ecological grief, examining the feelings and experiences that coincide with witnessing and living environmental degradation. We speak to First Nations Australians who have experienced this grief for centuries, as well as a climate conservationist whose ecological grief transcends Australia’s shores.

When we think of grief we think of death, but loss can come in a variety of sometimes unexpected forms. In this episode we hear a diverse range of stories from people who have struggled to find the language to communicate their grief.

In this episode of Living Loss, we explore one of the world's oldest civilisations, looking at the complex and diverse ways First Nations Australians navigate grief. We look at the intersection of intergenerational trauma and grief, as well as discover the ancient rituals and sanctity around death in Aboriginal Australian communities.

As a society, we might like to think we’re comfortable acknowledging death, but for many our dominant western culture struggles to hold space for grief. Other cultures also carry taboos around grief, and in this episode we interrogate this discomfort, whilst acknowledging the diverse ways cultures grieve.

Grief may be a universal experience but it’s felt uniquely across our multicultural landscape. In this first episode of Living Loss, we explore how many turn to their culture and community to navigate complex feelings of loss. How do different cultures hold space for grief, and are some better equipped than others?