The Death Cafe

This is a Partnership Event! The Death Cafe is co-sponsored by York Public Library and York County Service Association.

A Death Cafe is a group-guided open conversation about death (with sweets!). There is no agenda, objectives, or themes. A facilitator is present to keep the conversation going (rarely necessary), answer questions, and correct misinformation. It is a discussion group rather than grief support or counseling.  The objective is 'to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives'. You will find links below with more information on Death Cafe.

Refreshments Will Be Served!

About the Facilitator:

Leona Oceania is a Home Funeral Guide (Certificate: Jerrigrace Lyon's Final Passages), a Death Educator, an End of Life Doula (Certificate: Deanna Cochran's School of Accompanying the Dying), a Life Legacy Facilitator (Certificate: Rachael Freed's Life Legacies), hospice volunteer with Hospice of Southern Maine, board member of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Maine, facilitator of the Portland Death Café and various other death education gatherings and series, and member of the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance. Her passion lies in education, preparation, alternative funeral and body disposition options. You can learn more about Leona Oceania and her dedication to this topic on her website, Die Well Death Education.

More about Death Cafe events

Death Cafes have spread quickly across Europe, North America and Australasia. As of today, 19880 Death Cafes have been offered in 93 countries since September 2011. If 10 people had come to each one, that would be 198800 participants. It has been demonstrated repeatedly that there are people who are keen to talk about death and that many of them are passionate enough to organize their own Death Cafe.
 

Death Cafe in the Media: 

New York Times

NPR