Most of us, who have not personally witnessed the death of someone after an illness, carry a picture in our minds of what dying looks like shaped by hospital and tv dramas, hushed family stories, and a culture that tends to look away. That picture is often drama filled and there is a significant gap between what we imagine and what dying usually is. This mismatch can cause enormous, unnecessary fear.
This June, Preparing the Way is sitting down with Dr Kathryn Mannix — retired UK palliative care physician, cognitive behavioural therapist, and bestselling author of With the End in Mind and Listen — for a live, honest, and genuinely useful conversation about what dying actually looks like, and what it means to accompany someone through it.
Registration opens Monday, 4 May. Read on to find out what to expect.
Who is Dr Kathryn Mannix?
Kathryn Mannix spent two decades as a consultant in palliative care medicine in the UK, working across hospices, hospitals, and people’s homes. She was one of the early pioneers of the discipline, beginning her career in cancer care before moving into what was then a newly emerging field.
She also trained as a cognitive behavioural therapist and, in 1993, established what is thought to be the UK’s first CBT clinic exclusively for palliative care patients. It was a practical, grounded response to the psychological dimensions of living and dying with serious illness.
Kathryn retired from clinical practice in 2016 to focus on public education. Her first book, With the End in Mind, published in 2017, became an international bestseller. It was shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize and named The Times ‘Thought’ Book of the Year. Her second book, Listen, published in 2021, explored the art of tender communication — how to have the conversations we tend to avoid, and why listening is the most important skill in the room.
Her TEDx Talk, What Happens as We Die, has been viewed more than a million times. Kathryn’s work is grounded in a simple conviction: that a better public understanding of dying reduces fear, opens honest conversations, and helps people live and die well. At Preparing the Way we show this wonderful enlightening and gentle talk in every training we deliver. Many of our doulas share this with their clients and their families or people close to them: it’s a gentle education that makes a powerful difference.
What will we talk about?
This is a conversation, not a lecture. Helen Callanan, Preparing the Way’s founder and lead educator, will sit down with Kathryn for a wide-ranging discussion that we intend will be practical, honest, and genuinely useful. Together, they will explore:
- What ordinary dying actually looks like and why so many of us misunderstand it
- Why we avoid conversations about death, and what it takes to begin them
- What end of life doulas offer alongside families and conventional care services
- What compassionate, collaborative end of life care could look like in the years ahead
These are practical questions with real implications for everyone. The conversation will be candid and grounded, drawing on Kathryn’s decades of clinical experience and Helen’s deep practice and knowledge of holistic non-clinical end of life care.
Your questions answered live
When you register, you will be invited to submit a question to present to Kathryn. A selection of audience questions will be curated and asked live during the conversation. Whether you are an end of life doula, a health professional, a carer, or someone simply curious about death and dying, this is your chance to be part of the conversation.
Who is this for?
This event is open to anyone who wants to understand dying better. End of life doulas, palliative care and aged care professionals, nurses, social workers, chaplains, grief practitioners, and members of the public are all warmly welcome. You do not need medical knowledge or doula training, just an open mind and a willingness to listen. Even simple curiosity is enough.
Format and access
The event will be live streamed from a professional studio in Sydney on Monday, 8 June 2025, from 9:30‑am to 11:00‑am AEST.
A recording will be sent to all registered ticket holders, so if you are in a different time zone or cannot join live, you will still have full access to the conversation.
Tickets will be available via Humanitix. Registration opens Monday, 4 May; keep an eye on our website, emails, and socials for the announcement.
At Preparing the Way, we believe that understanding death is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves, for the people we love, and for the people we serve. As Sir Francis Bacon wrote, “Knowledge itself is power” and it is so true. This conversation is a chance to sit with someone who has spent a lifetime inside that understanding and who has a rare gift for making it accessible and genuinely helpful.
We cannot wait to share it with you.