Gail Rubin, CT, talks with Dr. Heidi Horsley from the Open to Hope Foundation
At the annual Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) conference in April, Drs. Heidi and Gloria Horsley with the Open to Hope Foundation conducted interviews with the death educators in attendance.
In this YouTube video, Dr. Heidi Horsley interviews Certified Thanatologist and Death Cafe pioneer Gail Rubin about the Death Cafe movement.
The objective of the Death Cafe is “To increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.” It’s all about an interesting, unstructured conversation – open and free-flowing with no specific agenda.
The Death Cafe concept was started in the United Kingdom by Jon Underwood. He was influenced by the ideas of Swiss sociologist Bernard Crettaz, who started holding Cafe Mortel events in France and Switzerland. At these events, people come together in a relaxed, confidential and safe setting to discuss death, drink tea (or your favorite beverage) and eat delicious cake or cookies.
The next Albuquerque Death Cafe conducted by Gail Rubin will take place this Saturday, May 16 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Gail’s home. Post a comment below if you’d like to attend and you’ll get an email with directions!
More worldwide Death Cafe information is available at www.DeathCafe.com.