Laura D Pusey is a Death Care Practitioner, pioneering advances in communication around death related subjects within groups, families, organisations and with individuals. Passionate about the importance of planning in advance for ones eventual death Laura is the author of My Life’s Tapestry (2021), an end of life workbook and planner designed to simplify matters for individuals, family members and caregivers on the approach to death. Laura believes that planning in advance for the death transition reduces fear and suffering, not only for the individual, but also close relatives or friends tasked with ensuring the right care and treatment is provided at that time.
Following personal experiences with dying, death and grief, Laura realised a lack of social, educational and cultural awareness around all subjects related to death led to negative death scenarios that could easily be avoided through open discussion. Since graduating from university with an Honours Degree in Sociology Laura has founded both D.I.P.ism (Death in Practice) and the directory FACFO, The Federation of African & Caribbean Funeral Operatives; an organisation dedicated to locating cultural suppliers of services necessary to African and Caribbean communities particularly in relation to end of life, funeral and grief support.
In 2021 Laura published her first academic Journal ‘Living with the mantle of the Strong Black Woman’ through the Fields Journal of Huddersfield for student research, and concluded the year by publishing her second book Tapestries of Grief, a textbook that defines grief and encourages meaningful conversation around notions of grief in the home, community and workplace.
In 2021 Laura also published the book Tapestries of Grief. Designed for group study and written from the perspective of an African/Caribbean/British born ‘Black’ woman; this book helps to define grief and explain the reactions to traumatic experiences that manifest when grief is fresh or suppressed.
Laura uses her knowledge and experience to empower both individuals approaching their death transition and groups of people who seek to gain an awareness of death related matters including grief and societal notions of normality within cultural perspectives. By maintaining ties within the academic arena Laura has embarked on project work around funeral care with the University of Aberdeen; and aside from her work as a volunteer, Laura actively works within African, British and Caribbean communities offering her services as an End of Life guide, Funeral Celebrant and Transformational Grief Therapist.
An excellent communicator on matters pertaining to dying, death and grief, Laura has proven herself to be an exceptional public speaker using her platform to illuminate, educate and often provide comfort and support to people who open up about their personal views on death related subjects and share personal experiences in public arenas. As Laura says, “Everyone has a death story…”