Creating and delivering an uplifting eulogy
You only get one shot at delivering a eulogy everyone will remember – here are some tips on how not to mess it up!
Using the REST EASY tools just fill in the blanks with the details your loved ones will desperately need to know when you’ve gone. Packed with information your family will need including where your important documents are; your funeral wishes, your digital footprint, financial matters and a life snapshot to help with writing a eulogy. A .pdf version of the hard copy that you can fill in and save to your desktop for easy access. It’s easy to update as your life circumstances change. You can save it to your computer, email it or store it on a thumb drive or external hard drive. The Rest-Easy Community Pack assists your small and large groups to have discussions about death and dying and to help each other to get your affairs in order. Filled with discussion starters, prompts from the Rest Easy Journal, written tools, prompt sheets and links to help your group in getting your affairs in order.
The Rest Easy Tools aren’t just for those you leave behind. They’ll also help you to put things in place to ensure that your end of life choices are aligned with your values and your physical, spiritual and emotional needs. Once you’ve completed the tools, put them aside and get on with living your best life, but you’ll want the tools if:
The Rest Easy Tools are designed to make getting your affairs in order simple. Both the hard-copy journal and the desktop version come in chapters/modules including: What to do when I die, which will guide those left behind through all the first steps if you die at home or in a hospital/hospice; You’ll be prompted through providing information on who needs to be contacted, how to access important documentation etc. My Funeral Wishes provides a section you can where you are guided to write out your funeral choices from burial or cremation, minister/celebrant, eco choices, favourite songs and poems etc., so your loved ones aren’t left wondering what you may have liked. My Financial Matters provides spaces for you to list your assets, collections, memorabilia, where to access bank accounts, superannuation and other information that may not provided in a Will. All Things Online helps you to record your digital footprint – all the online subscriptions, payment portals, logins, shopping sites etc. that you may have. It also provides a space for you to say what you want done with your social media accounts. My Life Snapshot provides a space for you to write down your life story, favourite memories, family genealogy and other aspects of your life that you would like remembered. The Desktop version comes with a collection of extra tools and templates to help you to get your affairs in order.
Don’t put it off – who know’s what’s around the corner? Filling in the Rest Easy Tools and talking to your family about them will be the best parting gift you can leave for those you love.
I believe the greatest legacy we can leave our loved ones is to take responsibility for our death while we’re alive. Hello. Talking about death seems macabre doesn’t it? So why have I been banging on about it for more than 20 years? Click on the video to see me talk about how I came to be ‘the poster girl for death and dying’, or read on. I created the Rest Easy Tools and trainings to help Australians to easily get their affairs in order so that those they leave behind aren’t left with a mess. Some people say to me, “I have my affairs in order, I’ve written a will”, others say, “I want to get my affairs in order but I don’t know where to start”. And others tell me that they don’t want to talk about death because it’s too weird. As a funeral celebrant who also provides palliative care, I have witnessed far too many families in stress and breakdown as they try to navigate their loved ones affairs while in deep grief. And there’s so much more to getting your affairs in order than just writing a will. I talk about death and dying because my fear of placing stress on those I love far outweighs my fear of dying some day, so I decided to face death before it faced me. I learnt all I could about my options and what it would take to process my death, and created tools to help my family. Shanna Provost is known as a social commentator on death literacy, a community leader in the end of life space, a funeral celebrant, workshop trainer, keynote speaker and advocate for dying well across Australia.
Death needn’t be dreary or something to fear. Dee Dee the Die Right Diva is a crusty old hen with a few feathers missing who encourages you to relax about death and dying so that you can learn how to get your affairs in order in a lighthearted way. Dee Dee is available as a quirky keynote speaker at local, state and national events (COVID permitting).
Tips on how to get your affairs in order: end of life choices, funeral wishes, talking to your family, how to write a great eulogy, appointing substitute decision makers and lots more. Have to plan a funeral and don’t know where to start? This checklist will help guide you through the many things to consider and discuss with your funeral director and celebrant. Getting your affairs in order doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are 10 simple steps to get you started.
We have already done some of this planning but lots of things we hadn’t thought about. Well done for putting it all together.
Though I was already pretty deep into my own death plan, the Rest Easy Journal took things to the next level. I had made what I thought was an exhaustive list of considerations, but this covered everything I had missed —like a family tree to fill out and direct bank account debits that would need to be stopped.
What a brilliant idea… thought-provoking… good tool to start a conversation within your family… makes dying normal.
I just wanted to thank you so much for your Rest Easy Journal. My father recently passed away and as executor of his will I found your book was extremely helpful to prompt me who to contact. It was also great to have it on hand to get Mum’s affairs in order. I would highly recommend it to anyone of any age.
Introducing the Rest Easy Journal is an elegant way to enter into conversations about dying and begin to make friends with this final stage. I did this with someone suddenly quite ill and I was anxious that if he died I had no idea what his wishes were. Once we addressed the journal’s questions the sense of relief was palpable for both of us.
I also like the simple workbook format, which means it would be straightforward enough to hand to parents or grandparents as well. This is really an all-encompassing resource for getting yourself prepared, written in language that’s empathetic and good-natured enough that you may even have some fun filling it out in the process.
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What People Are Saying
Steve and Wendy H from Canberra, Australia
Tess D. from Richmond, Virginia, USA
Bega Valley Hospice Group, NSW, Australia
Gaye, Alzheirmers Australia
Josephine R, Specialist Health Practitioner
Tess D. from Richmond, Virginia, USA