Death Cafe: Curiouser and Curiouser

By Gina Vliet

With a new batch of curious Café-ers due to recent newspaper and radio coverage, we kicked off the May 15th Death Café meeting with a round table of introductions and the question: “What are you here for?” Two prevailing themes emerged: curiosity, and a need to understand how to begin conversations about death.

Dividing the group into two due to size, they began animated discussions about what was on their minds. Using the Death Deck cards for discussion starters made it easier for some of our new attendees to get into the spirit of Death Café, but once begun, they were unstoppable! Death doulas, hospice and palliative care, suicide, and grief were discussed.

Halfway through, so that everyone got a chance to hear different perspectives, I had the groups stretch and shuffle. An understanding that everyone’s coming to the topic of death from a different place, based on their own experiences and beliefs, really united the group in what was for some their first Death Café experience.

We came back together for closing thoughts, and they went away with their curiosity slightly sated, with renewed interest in doing some homework on end of life, and in returning for more cake, coffee, and conversation next month!