How wonderful to read Kathryn Mannix’s sane article about death (Enough of the euphemisms. Let’s talk about death honestly, Journal, 30 November). As a volunteer for a bereavement charity, I know how true her words are. Despite clients’ use of euphemisms, we are trained to say “died”. In many early stages of grief, it is hard to accept the harsh reality of death, and my role is to help normalise the utter despair of the pain; euphemisms don’t help.
Mannix said dying “is a deeply personal and social experience”. In the autumn half-term I took my daughter and teenage grandchildren to a woodland burial ground where my husband and I have booked our double-decker grave. It was a gentle, sunny morning and the birds were singing. I wanted them to visit before they took me there for real.
Christine Hawkes
Cambridge
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