Death Cafe write-ups
Death Cafe Orleans Write up
Posted by LydiaMooreDuPertuis on Nov. 13, 2017, 8:55 a.m.
Fourteen participants gathered on Saturday for the first Death Cafe Orleans. The sharing was at once brave, profound, tender, and even hilarious at times. The feedback was good, and inquiries were made about when we might re-gather. I left feeling moved, refreshed, grateful, and envigorated about keeping the conversation in play. Thank you.
Hornby Island, BC Death Cafe XIII Write up
Posted by Sylvia Sienikehä Elysiana on Nov. 11, 2017, 7:43 p.m.
Another lovely gathering. :)
Death Cafe Knoxville Write up
Posted by Lorraine Phalen-Cross on Nov. 10, 2017, 9:24 p.m.
The gathering was a small group of 7. We had a wide age range, the majority being younger, in their 20's. Everyone was very repectful and inquisitive, and the conversation flowed fluidly for the 2 hours. We got off topic briefly a few times, but always brought it back to the main reason we were all there, to discuss Death and dying. The feedback forms were very positive, and the consensus was to have more structure. I will do better to explain the rules at next month's Death Cafe. The skull cake I made for the event was a big hit. I was caught up in ...
Vancouver Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Janet Rivers on Nov. 9, 2017, 5:51 p.m.
We had 8 in attendence and a very lively conversation. Most questions were around the new Advance Directive laws in BC. All good comments and delicious carrot cake. A question posed that we were unable to answer satisfactorily. What causes uneasiness about death and how to deal with that if you don't believe in the afterlife?
Portland ME - Death Cafe Write up
Posted by gina colombatto on Nov. 9, 2017, 9:07 a.m.
Thank you, Jon. Can't believe the first Death Cafe I hosted was in the low 2000s and here we are over 3000 worldwide later... Eight open-hearted folks arrived at the library. All but one were regulars (or have been to at least one Death Cafe).
One friend (yes, they seem to become friends), was unable to make it and wrote that his dad had left/gone/died last week. He was grateful for all the wisdom he had gathered around death at the Death Cafes, which he said made it all the easier.
Levity in the death and dying process.
So much joy in the cycle of ...
Death Cafe Tampa Write up
Posted by Cat Martin on Nov. 8, 2017, 6:56 a.m.
Thanks for another thoughtful Death Cafe
Lovely to meet Janine and Stephen.
Great to see Anna and Dee again.
The Pumpkin Cheesecake with Maple Bourbon whipped cream was awesome! (if I say so myself)
Death Cafe Leamington Spa Write up
Posted by gandalf_penny on Nov. 4, 2017, 12:04 p.m.
thanks to all for this afternoon. It was my first experience of this kind of group, and it felt very honest and rich. The mix of excellent facilitation, a graceful group - and honest sharing around questions around death felt really worhwhile.
Death Cafe for family and friends of Arun (Sam) Zaman Write up
Posted by Death Cafe Wanstead on Nov. 1, 2017, 6:24 a.m. 1 comment
In May 2015, Hasina's eldest brother died, she led his funeral and hosted a Death Café. The theme that evolved was the journey of the soul.
Hosting Death Cafes allowed Hasina to experience and embrace difficult conversations on death & dying. Death Cafe attracts people from all walks of life who share their experience of personal bereavement, planning our departure, feelings about their own death and different types of death, i.e. suicide, accidental, baby/child to sudden deaths. Death Café is an open and safe space that allows people to explore deep unresolved experiences and can be a hugely healing. Each Death Cafe would have a natural ...
What a wonderful experience - genuine compassion and openness. It was such a privilige to hear about other's experiences of: supporting family members, fears and hopes for how to cope, how to talk to friends and family about our own mortaility and make plans that are meaningful for everyone. I laughed, I cried and I left hopeful that we are a community willing to support living life fully to the end and dying with love and dignity.
Secular Hub Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Heili Lehr on Oct. 27, 2017, 11:30 a.m.
We had a great turnout for our inaugural Death Cafe at the Secular Hub. A great group of people sharing their thougts and feelings about death, being human, making the most of our time on this planet, and what that means to die when you come from secular frame of reference. We hope you will come and join us for next months event at the Secular Hub on November 18th at 4:00 p.m.!
Monmouth County Death Cafe Write up
Posted by Beth Almerini on Oct. 26, 2017, 9:07 p.m.
I always want to say this was the best meeting ever, because they are all that good. We had eleven people, including a reporter (!). We spent time talking about the impact the death of a pet has on us and how, in many ways, it can be more difficult to process. That led to a discussion about disenfranchised grief and we somehow ended up talking about after death "miracles" and how loved ones who have passed still influence us and were fortunate to hear the personal story of a participant's near death experience. As usual, there were some tears, a lot of laughter and, of course, delicious ...
We had 8 people at this meeting. Topics such as assisted suicide, wills, legacies were discussed. Then one man suggested that he would like to talk about his own death - and his fears for the way it would transpire. A very interested discussion ensued!
Chambana Death Cafe October 21, 2017 Write up
Posted by Sherry Gilles on Oct. 24, 2017, 9:05 p.m.
Our most recent death café was held on October 21 at the Universal Unitarian Church in Urbana, Illinois.
There were a total of fourteen sitting around the table. One person was a "regular" and everyone else was new. People heard about this death café through word of mouth, Facebook event posting, and friends.
The start was awkward but people finally started speaking.
One elderly gentleman with a hearty laugh notes he has heart trouble and while recuperating from heart attacks his daughter who was helping him said "you are going to have a hard time dying." This was possibly due to the fact that he now has an ...
Death Cafe Iowa Write up
Posted by DeathCafeIowa on Oct. 24, 2017, 3:18 p.m.
Our October Death Café was a bittersweet one to say the least. Carrie Bauer, Buffy Peters and Carmen Elliott (members of the Young Bereavement Professionals Group) are the facilitators for the group and this was the last Death Café in Iowa for Carrie as she has accepted a position in Colorado. Hopefully she can find Death Café people out there but the Iowa Death Café people had to say our goodbyes to Carrie.
After catching up during this Death Café we started talking about cremation jewelry. One participant recently had a dog die and brought some of the cremation jewelry she purchased online. That spurred an interesting conversation ...
We were delighted to see 20 people turn out for the death café. We talked about a range of subjects relating to two broad topics: ways in which one can commemorate a life, and taboos around talking about death.
There were discussions around different types of funeral service, including ‘do it yourself’ versions and green burials, and we were grateful to those participants from the funeral directors present who helped to dispel some common myths. One participant had a creative idea about how the dead can give advice to the living, and another suggested watching the comedy film ‘What we did on our holiday’ for alternative ideas. We ...