There will be conversations to die for when Blue Mountains residents get together at the Death Cafe in Katoomba next month.
Talking about dying and eating cake sounds like a very curious cafe combination, but the movement has taken off around the world after starting in London in 2010, says Death Cafe Blue Mountains co-host and artist Hayley West. Now there are more than 2000 worldwide.
"I first came across the concept of death cafes when I started doing my Masters. I wanted to talk to other people about their experiences with what to do with objects that are left behind when someone dies, and death cafes seemed a perfect avenue for this," Ms West said.
"There aren't many places or times where people have the freedom to talk about death. Even at funerals it's hard to converse as it is a very raw and emotional event," she said.
The cafe will run from noon to 2pm at Music Hunter the Experience pop-up shop, 186 Katoomba Street in Katoomba on August 8. It's part of Dying to Know Day, an annual day of action dedicated to bringing to life conversations around death, dying and bereavement. The first death cafe was held in the Mountains in 2013 and it's been growing in popularity with everyone from teens to older people attending, Ms West said.
"Many people who come to a death cafe have found it difficult to talk to family or friends about how they are feeling. I personally have found that it is such a relief to talk openly to people about my experiences," Ms West added.
Dying to Know Day spokeswoman Kerrie Noonan (who started the event three years ago as part of her work as the GroundSwell Project director) said 75 per cent of Australians had not had end-of-life discussions, but 60 per cent also think we don't talk about death enough.
"The number of Australians aged 65 and over will double by 2050, increasing our need to plan," she said, encouraging "death literacy" so people are better prepared to support family and friends through a bereavement.
More than 70 per cent of Australians die in hospital though most of us would prefer to die at home, and less than 10 per cent have an advance care plan which involved indicating what "kinds of treatments you do and don't want when you can no longer speak for yourself," she said.
"Death isn't part of life like it used to be. Fewer of us die at home and we aren't involved as communities in the care of the dying," Ms Noonan, who lives in Woodford, said.
"Because everyone is there to talk about death it's not ambiguous". Another three cafe events are planned over the next 12 months.
Details: www.dyingtoknowday.org or join the Facebook page to see upcoming events: www.facebook.com/groups/390563701044269/.
