Lola, the Albuquerque Death Cafe mascot
The next Albuquerque Death Cafe will be held Saturday, July 11, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Gail Rubin’s home. The new regulations regarding Medicare reimbursing physicians for discussing end-of-life issues and advanced medical directives with their patients is great news!
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. 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.
If you want to attend, post a comment below to RSVP for address and directions. Or join the Albuquerque Death Cafe Meetup group to RSVP and be kept apprised of upcoming events. Click here to go to the Meetup page.
Albuquerque was the site of the second Death Cafe held in the United States – the first one west of the Mississippi! Gail Rubin first hosted this pioneering event in September of 2012. A Certified Thanatologist (a death educator), Ms. Rubin has since facilitated dozens of Death Cafe conversations.
The Death Cafe concept was started in the United Kingdom in 2011 by Jon Underwood. He was influenced by the ideas of Swiss sociologist Bernard Crettaz, who started holding Cafe Mortel events in France and Switzerland.