Vizzy D Darlings, This week we're jumping into language and I'm inviting you to embrace this prompt in two ways: 1. Reflect on your own relationship with language in your corner of death and grief care. What's changed and evolved in you and your work? 2. How might you share this as advocacy? On socials, in a blog post, in an interview, in a conversation with someone. How can you more concisely weave and speak the evolution of death care language into your work and world? 🐦‍⬛ There's so much within language that's nuanced to who we are, where we work and what we do. A funeral director in a regional town carries different words than a chaplain in a city hospital, than a doula sitting with someone dying at home. None of us are working from the same script, and I don't think we should be. And yet, reflecting on the language we uphold and perpetuate in this work is relevant no matter where we live and what we do. It's culturally nuanced and our responses will all be different. It's something we should all keep tending to. For example, a lot of the western Anglo-centric grief language encourages us to "ask their name", or to "speak their name" to honour that person's loss and keep their memory alive. Some of my ‘best performing’ social posts are about exactly this. And yet, when I support First Nations families here in Australia, the cultural protocol is the opposite. In some communities you DON'T speak their name for the first year, to ensure their spirit can be free in the Dreamtime and not unsettled during a time when it needs to move on undisturbed. When supporting Sorry Business (the Indigenous name for death care and funeral rites), I always ask permission to speak their name or ask how best to refer to the person who has died. There will be nuance with this in all countries and communities. 🐦‍⬛ Here's some more examples from me if helpful. I haven't quite worked out how I want to share this as advocacy, but feel free to borrow or apply anything that resonates for you.

🎬 Here is the recording of our first ever virtual cuppa for those who want to catch the replay. My day was full of unforeseen curve balls so ended up having to dial in from the car - but wouldn't have missed it for all the world! Deep thanks to those who joined & blessings to those who will join the replay. We're weaving something so special here... thanks for being here & creating this together. x 🐦‍⬛ THE BELL AND THE BLACKBIRD By David Whyte The sound of a bell still reverberating, or a blackbird calling from a corner of a field. Asking you to wake into this life or inviting you deeper to one that waits. Either way takes courage, either way wants you to be nothing but that self that is no self at all, wants you to walk to the place where you find you already know how to give every last thing away. The approach that is also the meeting itself, without any meeting at all. That radiance you have always carried with you as you walk both alone and completely accompanied in friendship by every corner of the world crying Allelujah. 🐦‍⬛

Your experience deserves a better name… A while back, I changed one word on my website menu: BLOG became RESOURCES. That’s it. One word. But something big shifted. Not just visually, not just strategically. Something shifted in how I related to my own work. Because my inner critic had been quietly calling my writing self-indulgent for years. Just Amy processing things on the internet. Nothing to see here. 🙈 Renaming it asked me a different question. Not *what am I feeling?* but *how can this be of service?* It gave me a new angle for crafting and sharing my experiences. Through the lens of genuine usefulness rather than whatever that voice in my head had decided it was. And here’s what happened… The RESOURCES section is now the most visited part of my entire website. Those articles act as standalone lead magnets. They’re the main driver of my newsletter sign-ups. People find them, read them, and decide if they want more. Same writing. Same ideas. Just held differently. TRY IT FOR YOURSELF: Here’s a place to start. Look at what you’ve already written, or already know, or list some ideas you have - (or use any of these…), and ask: what is this actually doing? 1. “Some thoughts on embalming” → A plain-language guide to what embalming is, what it isn’t, and what families can ask 2. “Why I stopped using the word closure” → A reflective piece on grief language and what we say instead 3. “That funeral that changed everything for me” → A case study in what meaningful ceremony actually looks like 4. “What I wish families knew before they called a funeral home” → A practical rights-and-choices guide for people at the beginning of the process 5. “How I plan a ceremony when I’ve never met the person” → A behind-the-scenes look at ceremony design methodology 6. “On sitting with a body at home” → An introduction to home vigil and what families need to know 7. “The questions nobody asks at the arrangement meeting” → A question bank for families navigating funeral decisions

🐦‍⬛ VISIBLE FRIDAY #3 IS HERE 🐦‍⬛ Team huddle time, gorgeous ones. Grab a cuppa and come hang with me for 13 minutes. This week I've recorded our Visible Friday video via YouTube so auto-captions are available for anyone who needs them. :) Inside this week's family meeting: 🐦‍⬛ A few questions answered (you've been asking good ones) 🐦‍⬛ A very special limited-time offer - just for the legends who've been here from the start. It closes end of May so now's the time to tell a mate. 🐦‍⬛ This week's Visibility Prompt - all about idea generation and what to do when you've completely run out of steam. (We've all been there. I've got you.) Go hit play. See you in the comments. x

Hi Amy, Firstly, I would like to share about my experience doing your courses and then I’d love to ask a few questions please. I just finished your two online courses and I’m honestly blown away by how much valuable insight and information you share in both "Visibility Foundations" and "Social Reels Masterclass". I felt like you were speaking directly to me. I’ve seen so much marketing advice online, but it never truly resonated with me, how I feel about my work and the death care space. The wisdom and ideas you have shared feel very relevant to my role and I’m really excited to start putting the steps into action. I’m feeling inspired, empowered and ready to become more visible. Thank you so much Amy!! I’m inspired by how quickly you expanded your social media reach and I’m looking forward to trying out some of your ideas. When I was watching the module about reels, I started to wonder about a few things. I didn’t see you choose a location or hashtags and I’m curious about your perspective on using these two features. Also, have you chosen music for your reels based on what you like or have you played around with using trending audio? If you get time to speak into location, hashtags and trending audio at some point, I’d absolutely love to hear your insight please. Thanks again for everything you are doing to support, inspire and encourage your fellow death care workers, Michelle xx