Over time, I came to realise that I often served as a kind of keeper of families’ grief, and I began to worry that this might sometimes hold them back from moving through their healing journey. I believe that knowing a loved one has been honoured through the preservation of funeral memories can bring great comfort. Yet it can also, unintentionally, give people permission to postpone their grieving. And when grief is delayed, it can grow heavier and more difficult to face, making recovery from loss more complex.

For this reason, I’ve worked hard to ensure my books offer a gentle pathway toward healing.

The process of choosing which images to include and refining the eulogy helps families engage with their loss in a practical, supported way. During that process, the photographs—expressing love, compassion and tenderness—help make the reality of death a little less overwhelming, allowing families to begin integrating their memories with greater peace.