Death & Dying Series

Talking about end of life shouldn’t be hard. Or done alone.
Let’s talk through it together.

This series is devoted to the important conversations about something we’ll all face eventually, held in the safe space of community and led by an experienced facilitator.

Presented in association with Death Cafe, led by Jim Van Buskirk.

Sunday, January 5
11:00am–12:30pm

Talking About Death Won’t Kill You

By sharing some of the many stories I hear from my personal experiences hosting Death Cafés and volunteering with Final Exit Network, I hope attendees will be inspired to become more comfortable discussing this stigmatized topic. I spent most of my life not realizing that I was death ignorant, likely in death denial, and desperately in need of death education. I have learned that the more conversations and the more planning, the greater solace one can achieve, the deeper appreciation of life’s preciousness, as well as leaving a generous gift to our grateful, grieving loved ones. Magical thinking suggests that if we ignore death, it might go away. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to work that way.

Couldn’t make it? Watch the video recording here.

Sunday, February 9
11:00am–12:30pm

Peaceful Death: Another Option?

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Final Exit Network, a national grassroots right-to-die organization which grew out of the Hemlock Society founded by Derek Humphry, and which has been supporting those who wish to hasten their own deaths. Only eleven jurisdictions currently have Death with Dignity Acts — often referred to as Medical Aid in Dying — and many people desiring a planned death don’t meet states’ strict criteria. Learn about what FEN does and how it addresses the needs of potential clients who are not necessarily terminally ill. To commemorate FEN’s anniversary, two videos have been created as well as an anthology, There at the End: Voices from Final Exit Network.

Sunday, March 2
11:00am–12:30pm

Death Cafe

At a Death Cafe people, often strangers, gather to eat cake, drink tea and discuss death. The objective is ‘to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives. A Death Cafe is a group directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes, and no intention of leading people to any conclusion, product or course of action. It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counselling session. Death Cafes are always offered in an accessible, respectful and confidential space alongside refreshing drinks and nourishing food—and cake!

About our Presenter

Jim Van Buskirk has co-hosted Death Cafes for many years, and currently volunteers as a regional coordinator with Final Exit Network, counseling callers on end-of-life options, and reviewing relevant books and films for FEN’s quarterly newsmagazine. Most recently he edited the anthology There At The End: Voices from Final Exit Network—A Celebration of 20 Years.