Jan. 15, 2020

Dear friend,

The start of this new year got me thinking: What if we do one thing each month to learn about death and dying, plan for the end of life, and reflect on our mortality? By the end of the year we will have taken 12 small, manageable steps toward better understanding death—and ourselves! 

I call it 12 for 2020. Ideas include: 

• Watch a movie about death (have you seen Coco yet?).  
• Attend a death cafe. 
• Read a book about death (so many to choose from). 
• Listen to a podcast about death. 
• Ask yourself: What would a "good death" look like for me? 
• Read children's books about death (I love this one and this one). 
• Watch a documentary about death (Have you seen Extremis or End Game?). 
• Attend a living funeral ceremony. 
• Read poems about death (Emily Dickinson or Donald Hall, for example).  
• Write your will and your advance directive. 
• Go to an art exhibit about death. 
• Write your own obituary. 
• Fill out the Five Wishes document (legal in MD, DC, and VA). 
• Visit a cemetery (Oak Hill, Congressional, and Rock Creek Cemetery are in DC).  
• Read a book written by someone who cared for dying people. 
• Learn how different cultures around the world deal with death.  
• What do you want to do with your body after death? 
• Read a memoir written by someone who was dying of a terminal illness. 
• Learn about home funerals. 
• Learn about green burials.  

If you need more ideas, email me at sarah@deathpositivedc.com or check my resources page. 

Upcoming Death Positive DC Events  

• Join me at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in DC on Saturday, Jan. 18th, to see Judy Chicago's exhibit "The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction." Email sarah@deathpositivedc.com for details. I'll need to contact you if we have to cancel because of snow. Here's the Facebook event. 
• I'm hosting a death cafe at the Connie Morella (Bethesda) Library on 1/27. 
• I'm offering an obituary writing workshop in DC on 1/16. This event is for people age 60+. If you don't fall in that age range, stay tuned for more obit writing opportunities.  
• More death cafes at Rhizome in 2020: March 16th, May 11th, and July 13th. 

Other Events In and Around DC  

• Compassion & Choices Lobby Day in Virginia. 
• Compassion & Choices Lobby Day in Maryland. 
• Diane Rehm will discuss her new book on medical aid-in-dying with Kojo Nnamdi at Sixth & I on 2/3/20. Tickets here. 
• Galentine's Ghost Pub Crawl on Feb. 6th in Ellicott City, MD. 
• A 5K run at Congressional Cemetery in DC on Feb. 9th. 
• Lincoln in the Bardo Walking Tour at Oak Hill Cemetery in DC on Feb. 9th. 
• Congressional Cemetery has a book club every other month. Email Sarah Kirspel at skirspel@congressionalcemetery.org for details. 
• Life & Death tickets are going on sale soon! The event is in West VA in June. 
• Check the Death Cafe website for a death cafe near you (search events by zip code). 

You can also scroll through the announcements section of Death Positive DC's Facebook group for a running list of DC-area events (it's more comprehensive than this newsletter). Events are organized month. Always confirm events for yourself (I may not be aware of changes). 

The Washington Post Magazine recently featured an article about my "Write Your Own Obituary" workshop in the In Memoriam Issue. The Post also published a video about death cafes, which we filmed in DC last year. Please read/watch when you can!  

Take care, and let me know if you have any questions. Let's keep in touch. 

Warmly, 

Sarah 

Sarah Farr

(she/her/hers)

Founder & Director, Death Positive DC 

www.DeathPositiveDC.com

Facebook & Instagram & Twitter

Promoting conversations about death and connecting people around this topic

through social media and in-person events in the DC-area since 2017. 

How Will I Die? Artwork by Judy Chicago