Who would speak at your funeral?

When someone speaks at a funeral, it’s almost always because a family has invited them to do so. But have you ever considered, if you had a say, who you would want to speak at your funeral?

Who knows your stories? Who would be confident to speak in public and who be comfortable to speak about who you were in the world?

Who would speak with love, honesty, humour where it fits and with gentleness where it’s needed?
Who could hold the essence of you and offer it back to the room?

Most people never think about this. In fact I’ve been thinking about it myself lately and it’s actually a really hard decision. And if I find it difficult to choose, what a burden it would be on my family to try and decide who I would want.

And sometimes it’s not only about who should speak, but also who you would prefer not to. There are many valid reasons for that too.  Whether its boundaries, history, comfort or simply wanting the right voice to tell your story.

So… if you had a choice, who would you want to speak for you when the time comes? And who, perhaps, would you choose not to?