Mark your calendar for the next Albuquerque Death Cafe on Sunday, July 22 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Fifth Floor Lounge at Manzano del Sol Village, 5201 Roma NE, Albuquerque, NM. If you want to attend, let host Gail Rubin know by sending an email to Gail [at] AGoodGoodbye.com or join the Albuquerque Death Cafe MeetUp group.
The Death Cafe objective is “to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.” This movement started in September, 2011, when Londoner Jon Underwood and psychologist Sue Barsky Reid, his mother, held the first such event at Jon’s home. Death Cafes are modeled on the Cafe Mortel, an opportunity to discuss mortality created by Swiss sociologist Bernard Crettaz.
The sessions offer a group-directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes. This is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counseling session.
Death Cafes are a “social franchise,” where those who want to hold such events agree to follow the guidelines of holding a Death Cafe. The guidelines include presenting Death Cafes on a not for profit basis in an accessible, respectful and confidential space, with no intention of leading people to any conclusion, product, or course of action. Most events are free or donation-based. Hosts always offer drinks and food, such as tea and cake or coffee and cookies.
Since the first event in 2011, more than 6,400 Death Cafes have been held in 53 countries around the world. The first two U.S. Death Cafes were held in 2012 by Lizzy Miles in Columbus, Ohio and Gail Rubin in Albuquerque, New Mexico. To learn more about the Death Cafe movement, visit this page at AGoodGoodbye.com or visit www.DeathCafe.com.