We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text :-)

What does it mean to “do death differently”?

In this episode of Don’t Be Caught Dead, I sit down with Reverend Amy Firth — interfaith minister, funeral director, and spiritual counsellor — to talk about her incredible journey through grief, loss, and finding her calling in end-of-life care. From training in London with the One Spirit Interfaith Foundation, to returning to the Blue Mountains to support families, Amy shares what it means to walk alongside people in their most vulnerable moments.

We explore how ceremonies can hold competing truths, including the difficult challenge of creating funerals for those who weren’t always easy to love. Amy talks about including children, honouring complex relationships, and finding healing through ritual. She also shares how her grandmother’s death sparked a mystical experience that changed the course of her life, and why truth-telling — even when it’s painful — is essential in death care.

We also dive into her work running monthly Death Cafés, where community members gather to talk openly about death, dying, grief, pet loss, and even the unresolved grief from COVID. Amy reminds us that ceremonies don’t have to be pompous or formal. They can be barefoot, backyard gatherings or deeply personal rituals that honour the reality of life and death.

In this episode we cover:

• How Amy’s personal bereavements shaped her calling to end-of-life care
• The power of interfaith ministry and what it means to honour all truths
• Crafting funerals for complex or difficult relationships
• Why including children in funerals can be profoundly healing
• The importance of truth-telling in grief and death rituals
• Death Cafés: what they are, and the surprising themes that keep surfacing
• H

Are your affairs in order? Critical Info helps you organise essential documents in just 10 minutes a day. Sign up now for early access! → criticalinfo.com.au/critical-info-platform

Lost a loved one? Our guide walks you through the next steps, from the first hours to the months ahead. Download it here → criticalinfo.com.au/product/my-

Support the 'Don’t Be Caught Dead' podcast with a one-off or regular donation to help Critical Info, a certified social enterprise, keep creating free, high-impact conversations about death, grief and planning—every contribution fuels our mission to reduce the burden on families and build a more death-literate, compassionate community. Donate now:https://www.buzzsprout.com/2287809/supporters/new

Contact Catherine

Business Website: https://dontbecaughtdead.com.au
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094865491683
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/critical_info_org/
LinkedIn Business Page: : https://www.linkedin.com/company/critical-info
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-ashton-73254528/

Podcast Editor: https://www.livvimusic.com/

Music composer: Ania Reynolds - https://www.aniareynolds.com/