When I was in my early 20's my young sister died. People are not meant to die when they are 15. I though only old people died. It was incredibly difficult to talk to my friends about this. They didn't know what to say to me. Some avoided ...
Generally, in our day-to-day lives, death and dying is not a common topic of conversation. In our fumblings and mumblings when we do try to talk about death and dying - or listen to someone else who wants to talk about it - we're just not very good at it in ...
The search for meaning
Many, if not most, terminally ill patients experience a crisis of meaning as they approach the end of their lives. They are often racked with feelings of inadequacy and regret. Torturing themselves with existential questions focused on “What did I accomplish?”, “What did I really do ...
There is a particular weird experience of death and that is the one where you don't have the opportunity to say goodbye.
Although it might sound harsh, blessed are those who have the chance to say goodbye before someone passes away.
My family and I emigrated twenty years ago ...
Planning a funeral can be stressful, especially if a person dies suddenly. Proceeding with confidence is not easy when dealing with one of life's most difficult situations.
In the attempt to keep everyone happy, and honour your loved ones with the respect they deserve, it can be difficult to ...
Speech given by Ernie Schroeder 06NOV2018
TOPIC – WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?
OPENING
What is your purpose? Do you have a purpose?
Have you ever thought about it?
WHAT IS MY LIFE PURPOSE?
BODY
Until September 1st 1975, I wasn’t sure I had a purpose. I’m not sure ...
This is a piece I wrote about my journey of death anxiety :
FROM FEAR TO HERE BY Caroline Rosie Dent
The Buddhists say two things are certain in life:
We’re all going to die.
We don’t know when.
I shared this with a friend once, as he was ...
Recently, there was a picture online that showed a young child in excruciating pain. The father, a photographer, took the picture of his daughter who was within weeks of dying from a neuroblastoma. It was a raw picture capturing her intense pain. It was taken to raise awareness of pediatric ...
Why Talking about Dying Matters
The importance of holding positive conversations on death and dying
There are some topics that you generally don’t want brought up over a cup of tea – the topic of Brexit is still carving family and friendships in half – but what about death?
Fear of ...
This is just a very brief message to commemorate today as being Death Cafe’s 7th birthday!!
It has been a whirlwind and we’ve learnt so, so much in the last 12 months it‘s hard to know where to begin!!
Unfortunately I’ve had a pretty debilitating eye ...
I dreamed about you again last night. We are laughing; you are funny, smiling, alive. And then I wake up and realise in the darkness of the room that the reason I dream of you is because you are gone.
We haven't been friends for that long in the ...
This past year, my community, Southwest Atlanta, Ga, has lost some good people. I have lost friends. Friends of mine have lost friends, parents, older brothers, and other loved ones most of whom were relatively young. What I find to be apparent is once people pass, their genuine personalities are ...
A friend’s mother passed away recently, and I was invited to attend her funeral service at their church. Her white, vase-shaped cremation urn sat at the head of the altar while the eulogist told us about her life, conveying she was a loving mother, sister, wife and daughter. We ...
It is hard to believe that an entire year has passed since we lost Jon Underwood. This post is to mark an anniversary that seems very hard to comprehend.
So what have we learned during these last 12 months?
We have learned that grief is a constant companion, but that ...
There are no Death Cafes near us.
We would love to hear from other people who are open to talking about death and dying.
Scott and Bozena :))