Nov. 6, 2019

Dear friend,

November kicks off the holiday season, and for most people that means spending time with family. And family gatherings mean...an opportunity to talk about death with your loved ones! 

Take some time this month to talk with family and friends about your end-of-life plans, especially if the topic has never been broached. Find out if your family members or friends have been making plans of their own. The planning is important, and so is the communication around it. 

Speaking of planning, I recently participated in Iona Senior Services' sold out inaugural event, the "End of Life Expo: Planning a Good Death." Topics included dementia, organ and body donation, green burials, obituary writing, death doulas, palliative and hospice care, and medical aid-in-dying laws. This is all to say that there's a lot to learn about death and dying, and there are many options to consider. 

We had a steady flow of visitors to the Death Positive DC table, and quite a few of our conversations were about talking to family members about the end of life. 

Planning for your own death is practical and wise. It's also a gift to your loved ones, since they won't be left guessing as to what you would want. If you are ready to talk to your friends or family about end-of-life planning but aren't sure where to begin, try this advance planning guide and toolkit. 

November is also National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. Please visit the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's website for more information. They have a lot of easy-to-digest information on the difference between palliative and hospice care. 

Death Positive DC Events 

• A Death Cafe at Rhizome on November 18th. This death cafe is almost full. Please RSVP to sarah@deathpositivedc.com if you want to attend.  
• Save the Date! Death Cafes at Rhizome in 2020: Jan. 13th, March 16th, May 11th, and July 13th.  
• My next "Write Your Own Obit" workshop...stay tuned for an upcoming date (hopefully in December). 
• Join the Death Positive DC Book Club online. 

Other Events  

• Ellicott City Haunted Main Street Tours. 
• Congressional Cemetery's fall events. 

• Veterans Day Annual Wreath Laying for LGBT Veterans at Congressional Cemetery. 

• Cemetery Spirits & Stories: Iconography at Congressional Cemetery. 

• Life and Death (various dates in Nov.) at the Washington Improv Theater.
• Judy Chicago's exhibit, "The End: A Meditation on Death and Extinction," at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in DC. 
• Oak Hill Cemetery Book Club in DC on Nov. 13th. 
• Save the date! Life & Death Event in West VA, June 2020. 
• Check the Death Cafe website (you can search for events by zip code). 
• Death Positive DC's Facebook group...check the announcements section. There's a running list of local MD/DC/VA events (organized by month). If you know of any relevant events or activities, please post them or ask me to post them. Always confirm events for yourself as I may not be aware of changes. 

I want to leave you with a recommendation for a Washington Post article called At 94, she was ready to die by fasting. Her daughter filmed it. It's about how a local (to Maryland) woman used VSED (Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking, aka fasting) to hasten death at age 94. Her daughter, with her consent, made a short film about it. It's a very touching and thought-provoking story, and raises many questions about quality of life and death with dignity.  

Be well, and keep in touch. 

Warmly, 

Sarah 

Sarah Farr

(she/her/hers)

Founder & Director, Death Positive DC 

www.DeathPositiveDC.com

On Facebook

Instagram & Twitter: @deathpositivedc 

Promoting conversations about death and connecting people around this topic

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