Over a year on from the tragic death of Laura Nuttall in May 2023 following a lengthy battle with stage four brain cancer (glioblastoma), her sister Gracie spoke with Kedar Bayley about her new podcast, her mother’s memoir, and how she’s been coping with grief.
In July 2024, Gracie and her co-host Callum Fairhurst, who lost his brother to cancer, started the podcast The Dead Sibling Society.
She described the series in a sentence: “Aiming to make grief feel a little less lonely.”
The podcast has just wrapped its first season, with the final episode still to be released – but Gracie revealed that it has already secured funding for a second outing.
In its third episode, the pair welcomed Spencer Matthews, star of ‘Made in Chelsea’, to speak about his brother Michael, who died after reaching the summit of Mount Everest.
On what it meant to have such a high-profile guest, Gracie said: “It was massive. He’s a really nice guy and he has a lot of insight.
“He had a lot of time for us off-screen, as well. I related to him a lot in terms of his coping mechanisms and how he dealt with grief.”
Gracie and her Lancashire family started the Be More Laura Foundation after learning that brain tumours receive less than 2% of the money spent on cancer research, despite being the deadliest type for children and adults below 40.
In May 2024 Gracie’s mum, Nicola Nuttall, released her book The Stars Will Still Be There – a memoir revealing what Laura taught her about love, life and loss.
“I was supportive because I wanted her to have that as an outlet,” said Gracie of her mother’s book. “She’d been writing it since Laura was first diagnosed.
“But I didn’t really put together the fact that it was going to be a book that was public. It’s terrifying knowing there are parts of you out there that you can’t change. That anybody can read and perceive you that way.”
The memoir will also be something for the family in the future, as Gracie pointed out.
“My baby cousin remembers Laura and talks about her all the time. But when she’s older, she’ll be able to read the story, and she’s in it.
“It’s a way of keeping her alive, really. Looking at the impact it’s had on so many people, it’s worth it.”
It has now been 18 months since Laura passed and Gracie revealed how she’s dealing with grief: “When I watch videos of Laura, it sounds like I could just shut my eyes and she could be right in front of me.
“God, I miss her. I still text her as they don’t bounce back yet, and I tell her what’s going on in my life.
“I don’t know, maybe it’s a way of still keeping in touch with her.”
On what Laura would make of everything Gracie is doing so publicly in memory of her: “She would say ‘Well done’, and that’s it. Very few words but, for her, that would be high praise.
“She was very private. But when she got sick, we had to lose a lot of anonymity. She hated it, but I know she wouldn’t have changed anything because she knew other people were being helped by it.
“Laura knew her story was going to help others.”
The Dead Sibling Society podcast will aim to start filming its second season in the New Year, shooting for a mid-2025 release.
Gracie said: “Making something like this is difficult. I feel quite a responsibility to answer to people. I love doing it, but this little break is needed.”
Listen to Episode 1 of the podcast here:
For more on Laura’s story, or to donate to the foundation and help glioblastoma diagnoses go from terminal to treatable, visit the Be More Laura Foundation website.
Featured images provided by Gracie Nuttall with permission.
