'I wasn't scared of death - I just saw it as the next stage of life'

EXPERIENCING THE PEACE AND CALM OF A CHAPEL OF REST WHEN SHE WAS JUST SIX YEARS OLD LED CHARIS TO A CAREER WITH FUNERAL DIRECTORS

- By RUCSANDRA MOLDOVEANU

CHARIS Boyce was only six when she became curious about death, visiting her great-grandmother in the chapel of rest after she died.

Twenty years later, Charis is now a qualified embalmer, having developed her childhood curiosity into a career.

While studying religion, philosophy and ethics at the University of Gloucestershire, Charis, 26, began to look more closely at how death was viewed across different faiths and cultures and how the rituals and rites that surround it are often profound, symbolic and essential to grieving well.

Ms Boyce, who lives in Bulwell but is originally from south Leicestershire, explained that her great-grandmother's death when she was six made her realise she “wasn’t really scared of death” and saw it as the next stage of life.

She said: “I can’t really remember what she looked like, but I remember vividly what she was wearing.

“I remember finding the whole chapel of rest to be very calming, quite tranquil and peaceful.