Talking about death is life-affirming

In today’s New Zealand Herald, Dr Tess Moeke Maxwell offers her first-person account of the significance of researching the end-of-life for kaumātua.

Excerpted from the article:

“The end of life is often one of the most difficult parts of the life-cycle to move through due to the many physical and emotional demands placed on kaumātua and their whānau. Yet, it is arguably one of the most important times in our lives as this is when the kaumātua’s wairua is preparing to transition through the ārai, the veil, between the physical realm and the wairua (spiritual) realm.

“When things go well, kaumātua and whānau feel deeply spiritually connected to each other, and kaumātua can transition peacefully across the ārai; their families’ wairua support system also helps them through their grieving process before, during and following death.”

To read the entire article, click here.here.