If you are close to young person who has a life-limiting condition – you might find this new guide to having conversations with young people about death helpful.

Difficult conversations, by Together for Short Lives and the National Council for Palliative Care:

The guide is introduced by Lucy Watts, a young girl with a life-limiting condition. Lucy advises “You must go in with an open mind and listen to the individual and respond appropriately. It’s a difficult conversation – as the title says – so each different person will have a different outlook on life, different wishes and different reactions, and need a unique approach.”

The guide isn’t just for families. It aims to support professionals too, to improve the service and support they can offer to young people and families.

The guide has been developed by sharing insights from young people themselves and their families about difficult conversations they’ve had around end of life. The guide describes what it can feel like to have difficult conversations and offers tips and ideas about how to get better at communicating together.

Hopefully it will help young people, families and their carers to come together openly and honestly and talk about life and death decisions.

Final Fling has further help and advice.

We talked to Gemma about conversations within the family around her daughter’s Ciara illness. Follow the link in our blog on How to talk about dying to see our films and hear very pragmatic, realistic and spirited shares from Gemma along with professionals who live with difficult conversations every day.

Dining with Death conversations

Our friends at Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief produced a Dining with Death menu to help prompt conversations about life and death. See more.