About Go With Grace
Go With Grace is a free, independent New Zealand resource created to support people planning for later life and end-of-life, and navigating death, dying and grief. Whether you’re planning your own farewell wishes, arranging affairs for a loved one, or facing the loss of a loved one, we are here to help you approach this important time with compassion, clarity and peace of mind.
Through our planning tool, trusted directory of services, carefully curated resources, and gentle guidance — we aim to make end-of-life planning and grief support easier to access and understand. On this website you will find:
- Stories, news and articles to help normalise conversations around dying and grief
- A simple, secure “Go With Grace Plan” to record your wishes and share them with loved ones
- A directory of trusted local service providers: funeral directors, grief counsellors, celebrants, florists and more
- A growing library of grief & end-of-life resources (books, podcasts, poems, playlists)
Starting conversations
Death is a very tender and personal subject. We all face death, and we all face loss and grief throughout our lives – it is part of the human condition. However for many, the fear of dying stops us thinking about, and planning for, this final stage of life. Death can be incredibly difficult to talk about and even more difficult to accept. Go With Grace is a place to start these conversations.
We support people to better plan and prepare, so they have the peace of mind that their dying wishes are known. Having these conversations can also take away stress and anxiety for your loved ones, so they aren’t left struggling to make decisions without your guidance, at a time of loss and grief. We have worked very hard to ensure the information on Go With Grace is gentle and inclusive, because dying means so many different things to different people.
Join us for Dying Matters Week
We are proud to be the national lead for Dying Matters Week connecting people across Aotearoa to start conversations in a safe space, learn from local experts and seek support for later life, to get affairs in order, to support others and to navigate grief or loss.
Meet our Go with Grace Founder
Kia ora, hello. I am a mother, daughter, sister, aunty, business owner, writer and someone who has experienced grief. Like many others, I have lost loved ones – grandparents, older relatives and friends. I have walked alongside many others who have lost people close to them; a witness to their grief and loss.
When I first experienced losing a loved one, it was frightening and overwhelmingly sad. It was hard to know how to feel, how to act and how to find my way through these new emotions. I remember sitting quietly with grandparents in funeral home viewing rooms, attending passionately moving tangihanga on marae and colourful celebrations of life in churches. I had been around death, but I wasn’t prepared for the heartbreak that came from losing a child.
In my life I have faced three significant losses – a daughter, a father and a partner.
My daughter, Faith, was born prematurely, at 22 ½ weeks. She was perfectly formed – all except for her heart. 15 years later, I farewelled my beautiful father, who was diagnosed with – and taken by – cancer, in just four short weeks. Two years later, my treasured partner died by suicide.
With each loss, I seriously questioned if I could face – let alone survive – the hurt, the grief and the pain that arrived violently at my door and smothered every inch of my life. I was surrounded by loved ones and yet I had moments of desperately wanting to be anywhere but here.
Somehow, each time, moment by moment, day by day, I found my way back. Through each loss, I struggled to find the answers, the advice and the information I needed to navigate through these intense times of grief. Go With Grace is my attempt to provide the information I was looking for, but couldn’t find – so that I can hopefully help support others.
It is with the most sincerest and heartfelt thanks that I acknowledge all the people who have helped me bring Go With Grace into the light. This is an idea I have carried for many years, and it is only with the support of many that Go With Grace has been made possible.
In love and kindness,
Katy Mandeno
About our organisation
After three years of research and development, the Go With Grace website was launched on Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), 2 November 2023. Our community has quickly grown and the demand for support provided by Go With Grace continues to increase every year. In 2024, Go With Grace Ltd was established and this entity is now building on the significant self-funding that brought Go With Grace to life.
As Go With Grace has evolved, the need for more formal education and community service has become apparent, and we are currently in the process of applying for charitable status to deliver on these important services in our community. Go With Grace Charitable Trust established a founding board in March 2026 and has a clear vision, purpose and principles.
Vision
New Zealanders have peace of mind around later life and dying.
Purpose
Leading engagement, research, literacy and advocacy to build compassionate communities and support people to better prepare for later life, grief and dying.
Our guiding principles are:
– Improving access to information, resources and services
– Leading engagement, literacy, research and advocacy
– Building compassionate communities
– Supporting people to better prepare for later life, grief and dying
Thank you to our supporters
This website has been made possible through the advice and support of many wonderful individuals and organisations. We would like to specifically acknowledge Henderson Reeves, lawyers in Whangārei and Auckland and North Haven Hospice in Whangārei for the invaluable contribution of expert knowledge, guidance and support from their respective teams.
The Go With Grace Podcast
We launched the Go With Grace podcast as a way to share ideas and spark meaningful conversations. We’ve found that listening to two people talk can often be a gentler, more engaging way to explore and learn about difficult topics. If you know someone who’d love to join the conversation, we’d love to hear from you, please get in touch at [email protected].
Through this podcast, our hope is that others will be able to find the answers, knowledge and support they need when getting their affairs in order, grieving or facing the loss of a loved one. We hope you enjoy these compassionate conversations and feel inspired to start your own kōrero.
