When I tell people I'm a funeral celebrant, they often react by saying how sad it must be. But the truth couldn't be more different. Of course there is always sadness when you're supporting a family dealing with loss. But I can honestly say that this is the most fulfilling, life-enhancing and often joyful job I have ever done.
When I was eleven, my beloved Dad died, very suddenly. I didn't go to his funeral, and this made it especially difficult for me to come to terms with his death.
From that early experience, I grew up with a deep sense of how important it is to be able to say goodbye. As an adult, I started to support friends who were bereaved - writing eulogies, helping to organise funerals - and realised that this was what I wanted to do. So, in 2019, I completed my training with Humanists UK.
Since then, I've written and conducted several hundred funerals, met wonderful people, learnt about extraordinary lives, and helped families to say goodbye in a way that is perfect for them and their loved one. A funeral is a chance to look back over a whole life, however long or short, and celebrate the things that make a person unique. The things that you, as their family and friends, love them for.
Supporting people at a time of bereavement and helping them to create a funeral that reflects their loved one is a great privilege, and I am so proud to be able to do it.
