For the final episode of season 4 I talk with undertaker and owner of the independent funeral service Natural Endings, Rosie Grant.
After listening to several episodes of this season, Rosie reached out to me to suggest talking with me about her creative, personal, and as she described it ‘radical’, approach to honouring the lives of those we love.
I have admired Rosie and her fellow undertaker Lisa’s work from afar, via social media, so this felt like a true honour to be invited over for a chat, and the perfect way to end this season on creativity and grief.
One grey July morning, Jon and I drove over to visit Rosie and Lisa in the old sorting office in the West Yorkshire town of Todmorden.
Rosie has thoughtfully transformed the beautiful and characterful old buildings into a mortuary alongside a light and airy space for hosting ceremonies.
Our conversation with Rosie was both moving and insightful. And because Jon was present to help out with recording, and I knew he would have questions and thoughts, I invited him to chime in if he felt compelled to.
Which he did (although slightly muffled as he wasn’t mic’d up).
what came out of this was an incredibly open and vulnerable conversation about grief, honouring the lives of others and developing our own personal rituals.
I cannot wait for you to hear Rosie’s fascinating story, about how she first found her calling as an undertaker in the mid 90’s, through organising her own mother’s funeral,
How she navigated the very traditional world of funeral directors, her stint as a cabaret performer, her training as a psychotherapist and then her return to her ultimate purpose as a funeral director.
This conversation has stayed with me on a profound level, and the topics we discussed have ignited many important conversations with my own friends and family.
Thank you Rosie and Lisa for inviting us into the beautiful space you have created and for demystifying the process of death, ritual and grieving. We feel truly honoured.
A gentle warning, this episode contains some swearing, mentions of infant death and some references which may be upsetting.
Welcome to the season finale of On the Irregular: On Creativity and Grief with Rosie Grant.
You can find Rosie online at naturalendings.co.uk and on instagram @naturalendings or please head to the show notes for links.
Conversation with Rosie Grant - Undertaker and owner of Natural Endings Funeral Service