Yourdeathwish.com has been created by Victoria Vanstone and is the first website of its kind, but how did it come about?
“I was sitting, having dinner with some friends, and the subject of what songs we wanted to be played at our funerals came up. I told everybody that I wanted Bill Withers’s “ Lovely Day” . Later, I thought, “How on earth are they going to remember that?” Then my mind began to spin with ideas! “How could I create an on-line archive site that told my friends and family what I wanted to happen if I died? Also how could I make such a site available for others to use, free of charge? So, Yourdeathwish.com was born.”
 “I wanted the site to be up-beat and fun, but most of all, I wanted members’ profiles to represent them as they would wish to be remembered; not in a morbid way; more as a celebration of their life.”
With help from Phuket Web Design, the site soon began to take shape.
Yourdeathwish.com now includes security measures and features such as photos and videos and much more, these functions enable the user to really create a profile that reflects their life and personality, thier families can then use the page as a remembrance/memorial page when the user has passed away.
Vicky says, “I want people’s attitude to death to be more accepting of the inevitable. I know that death is a very sad and emotional time for everyone, especially if the person is young. A friend of mine died suddenly last year. I was not in contact with her family, as I was out of the country. If yourdeathwish.com had been available, I would have been made aware of her death, and would have been able to write condolences on her page, looked at photos and videos of her, and found out the details of her funeral. I felt sad that I was unable to do this, and it made me believe in the need for Yourdeathwish.com even more.'
'My aim is that yourdeathwish.com will be a part of everyone’s life. You can create your own profile, keep it updated, and let people know, by Email, that your profile exists. It will make you more comfortable to know that your wishes will be followed, but also, it will take some pain and hassle away from loved ones. It’s free and it’s positive. I hope people are not scared to think about this difficult topic - just accept it and organise it!'
Victoria has created an extremely useful and relevant site. The internet is now used to do almost everything, why not use it to help with death?
19/02/2007 - Update.........
The site is having great success and has been featured in many news articles (including BBC News and The Independent) We are about to undergo some design changes to make the site more user friendly and to include some new tools and functions.
It's so exciting to see the idea coming to life! Keep posting your feelings and experiences in the forum and remember to spread the word with your friends and family.
Thanks for your support,
Victoria
yourdeathwish.com...It's the way to go!!
Please contact info@yourdeathwish.com |
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