Show Notes
Carrie Rauber started out as a massage therapist before moving into administration. She talks about the emotional toll caring for the dying can take, the spiritual services Hospice offers and reminds us that we continue to evolve right up to our last breath.
Adam Bruce was a tradesman painter but at the mid point of his life wanted something more meaningful so he went back to school and trained to be counsellor. Now working at the frontline of patient care he talks about the experiences that have changed his perspectives and made him a better person
Hospice Waikato’s Director of Communications & Engagement Cherie McCleery reminds us that the free services Hospice offers depends on donations and community engagement and as with Adam, reflects on how working at Hospice has changed her life and shaped her into a better person.
Hospice Waikato, in association with Free FM, presents The Last Breath – A Podcast About Death And Dying.
More from The Last Breath — A Podcast About Death And Dying
Kevin Toolis - A Handshake for the Dead. For the last episode of the second series of Hospice Waikato’s Last Breath, we are finishing as we began, with a special international guest. In this interview, BAFTA-winning filmmaker and journalist Kevin Toolis reflects on the traditional Irish wake as a living ritual through which communities process grief together.
Linda Thompson found out she had stage 4 cancer in November 2025 and was given six to twelve months to live. Intelligent, vivacious, and filled with curiosity and wonder, Linda decided straight away that she was not going to be a cancer warrior, whatever time she has left, is for living and doing the things she likes best.
In this interview Aroha Croft talks about the experience of losing a parent to suicide.
Gil is a Funeral Director and in this episode she takes us behind the scenes and explains what a Funeral Director does, everything from paperwork through to embalming. But as she explains, above all else, her vocation is about care.
As a society we seldom talk about death but as I have learned, given an opportunity, people have a lot to say on the topic. For Series 2 of The Last Breath, I have asked all sorts of people to share their perspectives on death, dying and grief, assisted dying, faith and the afterlife. In this episode guitarist Gary Verberne, Filmmaker Matt Hicks and retired GP Somas, share their perspectives and experiences.