Lesel Dawson

The flyer for the seminar series. Please visit https://griefcentre.bristol.ac.uk/events for more information

We are delighted to announce our new seminar series showcasing inspiring research & scholarship – locally, nationally & internationally – to connect Bristol to a global conversation about grief & loss.

To find out more & join our mailing list, visit griefcentre.bristol.ac.uk

Two exhibition photographs: an armchair next to a telephone with images behind and a rock on top of a column. The text reads: Mon 6 Oct 19.00 BST Free Online Event. Letters to Forever: Using Art to Express and Share grief

Why do we turn to creativity during grief? How can it help us connect to others, including people who have died? On 6 Oct, join Natalia Millman, Helen Acklam & @carrieetter.bsky.social to explore what it means to make art from pain & loss & share our story: www.ticketsource.co.uk/goodgrieffes...

Grief affects us all, and yet people often struggle to talk about death & dying. 🦋

@goodgrieffest.bsky.social is a social venture spinout at @bristoluni.bsky.social that brings people together to talk about death & grief, providing information, support & a sense of community

More 👉 brnw.ch/21wVqxR

Photo of Molly Conisbee with Good Grief Festival moth logo. The text reads: What Can We Learn From History About Grief, Loss and Bereavement. Dr Molly Conisbee CDAS , University of Bath. For more, visit: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/goodgrieffest/uob-grief-seminars-dr-molly-conisbee-what-can-we-learn-from-history-about-grief-loss-bereavement/e-mqlgbx

Our next seminar is next Weds! Sign up now to hear @mollyconisbee.bsky.social @cendeathsociety.bsky.social explore how her research into grief through history has influenced her counselling work. We can't wait!

www.goodgrieffest.com/events/uob-g...

@leseldawson.bsky.social @lucyselman.bsky.social

Jessica Jacobson from Birkbeck, University of London; & @emilyharrop.bsky.social @cumedicengage.bsky.social.

We can't wait!

Future sessions will feature @mollyconisbee.bsky.social @cendeathsociety.bsky.social @uniofbath.bsky.social; @sbajwah.bsky.social @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social; @catrionamayland.bsky.social @sheffielduni.bsky.social; @leseldawson.bsky.social @bristolunienglish.bsky.social @bristoluni.bsky.social;

Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate the launch of @griefcentrebris.bsky.social! We hope the Centre will make a real difference—bringing together research from many disciplines to deepen our understanding of grief, death, & loss, to improve people’s experiences of these universal parts of life.

Attendees pouring out from Goldney House and walking across the lawn

Jimmy Edmonds, Mary-Frances O'Connor and Anna Brown smiling at the camera

The Grief Centre team: Jenny Birchall, Rachel Hare, Lucy Selman, Lesel Dawson and Chloe Shaw

Poet Malaika Kegode giving a reading under a canopy of trees

Thanks to everyone who came to the launch of the Bristol Centre for Grief Research & Engagement. It was great to celebrate the new centre with colleagues, friends & collaborators. Together we hope to change the way that grief is seen, spoken about & supported. More photos coming soon!

A person stands next to a chair on a jetty. The text reads: GRIEF & LEARNING DISABILITIES: BLOG, RESOURCE LIST & WEBINAR

Grief and death affect us all & yet we often struggle to talk about them. The anxieties can be greater for people with learning disabilities & their families, friends & carers. Check out our blog, resource list & webinar here: www.goodgrieffest.com/journal/grie...

Thanks to everyone at @stmhospice.bsky.social & 18 Hours for a great kick off to Good Grief Hastings! @goodgrieffest.bsky.social will be part of the @coastalcch.bsky.social project, which uses creative approaches to address health inequalities.

Good Grief: A Tribute to Anne Mayer Bird by Catherine Mayer - Good Grief

We are sorry to share the news that author & Good Grief Festival contributor Anne Mayer Bird has died. In this blog, Anne's daughter @mayeroflondon.bsky.social shares her eulogy & reflects on how their relationship was impacted by their shared experience of grief. Visit our website to read more

Kathryn Mannix during the interview

Andrew Blades during the interview

Audience members listening to Kathryn Mannix. Some are making notes. Photo credit: Isis Blake

Kathryn signing an audience member's book. Other copies of her two books are visible on the table. Photo credit: Isis Blake

It was a huge honour to welcome the fabulous @drkathrynmannix.bsky.social to Bristol Uni for the first ever @griefcentrebris.bsky.social & @goodgrieffest.bsky.social event.

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us -- here are some snaps of the day

There is still time to sign up for this free
@goodgrieffest.bsky.social webinar with Robert Neimeyer, taking place at 7pm tomorrow night. ♥️

Some of the people who feature in We Need to Talk About Death @backpocketteacher.bsky.social

New on YouTube! We're excited to share We Need to Talk About Death, a 15-min film co-created by biggerhousefilm & adults w/ learning disabilities. We'll discuss it at our free online panel w/ Irene Tuffrey-Wijne & Stephen Clarke #DyingMattersAwarenessWeek

www.ticketsource.co.uk/goodgrieffes...

When my sister died, it wasn’t just her own childhood memories that disappeared. Mine did too | Jason Hazeley Millie had fantastic recall, unlike mine. Now there are parts of my past – and myself – that I’ll never be able to remember, says comedy writer Jason Hazeley

On grief and memory: "When she died, she took the memory of not one but two childhoods with her – in all their vivid, silly, scattered, doesn’t-matter-but-it-does detail. I feel as though I have lost a witness, someone who can attest to what happened to us both." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Big news!❤️

Today we're launching The Bristol Centre for Grief Research & Engagement @griefcentrebris.bsky.social.

Together we'll develop social, creative & policy interventions to change the way grief is seen, supported & spoken about, helping to build more compassionate, connected communities.

Black text on white background reads 'Grieving wails and screams, not just as outward expressions of emotion, but inside our body as well. Mary-Frances O'Connor'

Mary-Frances O'Connor @doctormfoconnor.bsky.social is an expert on the myriad ways that grief affects us physically & mentally. We can't wait to hear her insights at our free webinar on Weds (23 April).
Sign up (& share any questions you'd like us to ask) here: ticketsource.co.uk/goodgrieffes...

Photo of Mary-Frances. The text reads: What Happens in our Bodies When We're Grieving? Wed 23 April 18.00 BST, Free Online Event

How does grief affect us physically? Join us for a webinar w/ brilliant neuroscientist @doctormfoconnor.bsky.social in conversation w/ @leseldawson.bsky.social. We'll celebrate Mary-Frances's new book & explore how to support our bodies & minds during grief: www.ticketsource.co.uk/goodgrieffes...

Thanks to everyone on the #Shax2025 Grieving in Shakespeare's World panel for a fascinating seminar! Kaara & I really enjoyed meeting everyone & thinking in new ways about grief, loss, memory & memorialisation (and of course Hamlet, which featured quite a bit)! @saaupdates.bsky.social

A flyer for the event: it has a picture of Kathryn Mannix and her two books, Listen and With the End in Mind. It also has the event information: Friday 9 May, 12 noon, University of Bristol. A Good Grief Festival event for Dying Matters Awareness Week, followed by a book signing. This is followed by the url for the Good Grief Festival events page: www.goodgrieffest.com/events

On 9 May, @drkathrynmannix.bsky.social will join Andrew Blades for a lunchtime chat @bristoluni.bsky.social. Sharing insights from a palliative care career, she'll explore the power of learning what matters most & how to truly listen #DyingMattersAwarenessWeek www.ticketsource.co.uk/goodgrieffes...

Thanks to @astridswan.bsky.social for inviting me to 'Embodied Knowledge: Interdisciplinary Intersections in Medical Humanities' @helsinki.fi . It was a terrific event w/ a huge range of fascinating papers. I learned lots, made new friends & had a wonderful & inspiring time. 🤩

Death is as natural as childbirth; yet, we often do anything we can to avoid talking about it. For #DyingMattersAwarenessWeek in May, we're excited to welcome the incredible @drkathrynmannix.bsky.social to #WestonSuperMare for a very special interview w/ @lucyselman.bsky.social

It was such a wonderful workshop. Thank you so much! 🥰

Black text on white background: I've had to find ways of tapping into the root cause of the grief, which is the absolute love for somebody that's no longer with you, and allow that to be the thing that drives you rather than the pain. Then the author's name: Raynor Winn

We can't wait for the film adaptation of @raynorwinn.bsky.social's beautiful memoir #TheSaltPath, which will be released on 25 April w an all-star cast. Raynor writes so beautifully about love, grief & the power of nature. Rewatch her interview w @colinbookshaped.bsky.social youtu.be/RfyCJvi7gwM?...

What is the relationship between trauma & bereavement? Stephen Regel & Hannah Jardine Youell will explore this question in our new course starting this Saturday. It is only £25 for 7 sessions & you can sign up here: checkout.teachable.com/secure/14555...

An image with photographs of Mary-Frances O'Connor and Yaa Yeboah-Newton, as well as the Good Grief moth. It has the session title at the top: Life in Limbo: What Happens When We Are Stuck in Grief. At the bottom, it says: When Grief Is Complicated, Online Course with 7 Talks and Workshops, 1 Feb to 11 Mar

The third session of our When Grief Is Complicated course will bring together 2 brilliant women, @doctormfoconnor.bsky.social & Yaa Yeboah-Newton! We're excited for them to discuss Mary-Frances's research on being 'stuck in grief'. There's still time to join us
checkout.teachable.com/secure/14555...

Quote in black capitals on a white background: 'The very act of creating is a kind of release, a valve to let out pent up feelings. Putting those feelings on paper demystifies them, lets them out into the world' - Gary Andrews

Did you know that our new course includes an online drawing workshop with the brilliant @garyscribbler.bsky.social? We can't wait! When Grief Is Complicated features a whole host of fantastic people -- & places are filling fast! Sign up to join us here: checkout.teachable.com/secure/14555...

I'm excited to be talking about 'Grief, Creativity & Embodiment' at the workshop 'Embodied Knowledge: Interdisciplinary Intersections in Medical Humanities', taking place at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies on 13–14 March.
@astridswan.bsky.social @helsinkiuni.bsky.social

There's still time to sign up for our new @goodgrieffest.bsky.social course, When Grief is Complicated! It starts 1 Feb & you can now earn 7 CPD credits from the Royal College of Physicians for taking part. Register here⬇️
checkout.teachable.com/secure/14555...

Quote in black writing on white background: Sometimes being in nature is the only thing that feels as big and powerful as the feeling of grief inside - Freya Bromley

We love novelist Freya Bromley's beautiful words about reconnecting with nature after devastating loss. On 1 Feb, she'll join Robert Neimeyer & Carolyn Ng from Portland Loss to kick off our new course When Grief Is Complicated. It's only £25 for 7 sessions! www.goodgrieffest.com/the-grief-ac...