death cafes: tea, cake, and a discussion about mortality
May 16, 2016 8:10 AM Subscribe
In 2000, shortly after the death of his first wife (anthropologist Yvonne Presswerk), Swiss sociologist Bernard Crettaz set up a series of cafés mortels, or death cafes--informal gatherings where ordinary people could talk openly about death and dying. Crettaz inspired Jon Underwood and his mother, Sue Barsky Reid, to begin hosting death cafes in the UK ; eventually they put together a guide [pdf] for those wanting to host their own. Death cafes have now been held in 35 countries. They are not meant to be grief or bereavement support groups; instead, Underwood says, their purpose is “to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives."
CBC Radio interview (audio here; transcript here) with Underwood, along with sound clips from a Toronto death cafe.
CBC Radio interview (audio here; transcript here) with Underwood, along with sound clips from a Toronto death cafe.
I've been to one, and I really enjoyed it.
posted by warriorqueen at 9:57 AM on May 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by warriorqueen at 9:57 AM on May 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
I have to declare an interest in that I work with Jon for Dying Matters, which is all about helping people become more comfortable with talking about death.
The growth in death cafes has been remarkable, but is most welcome. For me it was oddly liberating to be able to talk about death - my eventual death, my Dad's death from a few years back - and to not treat it as a joke or become morose out like I used to. Although people like to laugh about the "tea, cake and death" tagline, there's clearly an untapped demand for spaces to discuss death that many of us otherwise feel we can't talk about.
posted by YoungStencil at 10:21 AM on May 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
The growth in death cafes has been remarkable, but is most welcome. For me it was oddly liberating to be able to talk about death - my eventual death, my Dad's death from a few years back - and to not treat it as a joke or become morose out like I used to. Although people like to laugh about the "tea, cake and death" tagline, there's clearly an untapped demand for spaces to discuss death that many of us otherwise feel we can't talk about.
posted by YoungStencil at 10:21 AM on May 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
i was thinking about listening to this from Yale's open courses, and this post reminded me I've been putting it off.
posted by xtian at 1:40 PM on May 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by xtian at 1:40 PM on May 16, 2016 [3 favorites]
"Cake and death?"
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 4:18 PM on May 16, 2016
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 4:18 PM on May 16, 2016
Better than "Death (no cake)"
posted by krinklyfig at 6:23 AM on May 17, 2016
posted by krinklyfig at 6:23 AM on May 17, 2016
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posted by Maaik at 8:21 AM on May 16, 2016 [1 favorite]