The power of things

Matthew Bannister marks twenty years of Radio 4’s Last Word by exploring how our attitudes to death, dying, and the ways we memorialise the dead have changed. In this episode, many will recognise the enormous emotional challenge of clearing a lifetime’s worth of physical possessions when a loved one dies — and now there is the added burden of dealing with their digital legacy too. So how do we decide what to keep and what to let go? Matthew and his wife visit her childhood home in Colchester to reflect on the emotional impact of clearing the house after her parents died. He speaks to artist and grief coach Charlene Lam about her unique approach to choosing what to keep from her mother’s home. The episode also looks at how some people now find themselves locked out of digital photographs and videos when a loved one dies, and the personal items Matthew and his wife chose to keep to remember their parents.

Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Production coordinator: Jesse Edwards
Studio mixer: Dyfan Rose
Editor: Glyn Tansley