Revaluing death in our lives

SPONSORED - Empowering families with valuable and practical end-of-life information is important. The third season of the local How To Die podcast features an ever-expanding discussion on a variety of topics related to death, dying, grief and end-of-life care, as well as different funerary traditions in South Africa and abroad.

Producer and host Sean O’Connor says his aim with the show, which is supported by AVBOB, is to help people talk about death. “Without fail, every featured guest says the same thing in a different way: that life is short, and that we need to find ways to savour every moment of it. The ancients understood this, that an acceptance of mortality is what makes life sweet. Death is part of our design.”

Adriaan Bester, AVBOB General Manager: Corporate Affairs, says that acknowledging our mortality gives us an opportunity to revalue death in our lives. “We’re proud that we can contribute to a diversity of voices around the often-taboo topic of death. This is a meaningful project, and a unique one,” he adds.

Acceptance of mortality

The new season of the How To Die podcast of ten episodes features extraordinary interviews with a retired death row chaplain, a local right-to-die activist recently released from house arrest for premeditated murder, a highly-experienced grief counsellor, a veteran midwife and a human composting technician, amongst others. Each guest provides a unique perspective on an aspect of death that has proven useful to the show’s listenership.  

Apart from giving back to communities by empowering small businesses, supporting basic education and assisting in the fight against gender-based violence, as a family-centred organisation, AVBOB is also proud of its life-affirming initiatives such as the annual AVBOB Poetry Project.

The How To Die podcast is freely available on howtodie.co.za and popular podcasting platforms such as Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and https://www.avbob.co.za/Articles.