In recent years, the presence and the role that historians' own emotions play in their work has been the topic of a vivid debate amongst academics. Are the emotions felt by the historian dangerous, something to be avoided, or could they also be a historiographical resource and an explorative tool? This interview offers a great opportunity to become acquainted with the perspective of three different generations of French scholars who have made important contributions to the historiography of dying, death and grief. They have been asked to explore the emotional dimensions of their work within both the private and professional spheres: the choice of their research topics, the feelings emerging from intellectual and physical "contact" with sources and finally, the relationship between their intellectual knowledge and their intimate experiences of loss.