In Praise of Death

[Shepherd]

I was recently given a "NY Times" article entitled “The Positive Death Movement Comes to Life." It's in-print title is "They Say Death Has Gotten a Bum Rap" and the sub-title is "A Growing Movement Made Up Mostly of Women Breaks Taboos on a Touch Subject."

Following is the link to a June 24, 2018, follow-up article by the same writer: "Putting the Fun in Funeral". At the bottom of that article is a link to the longer, original article.

Among the things it reports on is "the monthly gathering of the Lower East Side Death Cafe.” It notes that “Death Cafes, as a formal institution, began in East London in 2011…The organization’s website claims to have initiated 6,503 death cafes in 56 countries.

The lead paragraph follows: “It was the party of a lifetime, and Shatzi Weisberger wouldn’t have missed it for the world. After all, it was her funeral. Or, as she pronounced it, her FUN-eral.” The article later adds, “At 88, Ms. Weisberger has found a second calling in what has been labeled the positive death movement—a scattering of mostly women who want to break the taboos around discussions of death.”

“There are tremendous similarities between birthing and dying,” social worker Henry Ferski-Weiss is quoted as saying. He suggests that we need more “death doulas.” Joanna Ebernstein adds that “ours is the first culture to pathologize an interest in death.” She offers a blog called Morbid Anatomy, which explores different culture’s approaches to death. Having lived in Mexico, I appreciate their annual celebration of the Day of the Dead, in which families, including young children to into cemeteries at night to honor their deceased elders.

The Sebastopol Area Senior Center offered Death Cafes back in 2013-14 and began them again this year. They are the 3rd Fri. of each month, 3:30 to 5 p.m. and are open to all. They are facilitated by Tess Lorraine, in a number of places around Sonoma County. One can get on her email list by writing her at [email protected]. The local versions of these celebrations are now called “Speaking About Death."

We had another lively, fun, informative Death Cafe Friday, full of sweet treats. Feel free to share this email with those who might be interested, as well as those who suffer from the fear of death, even unwilling to converse about it. Having said all this, I must admit that I really miss my friend John Taylor, who died last year.

Yours, in praise of death, without which none of us would be alive,
Shepherd

P.S. Following is a link to a Alan Watts video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU0PYcCsL6o.