Last Dance Shrouds

!!!

Designing for death: K-State fashion professor's art showcases sustainable burial practices A new exhibition at K-State's Beach Museum of Art features fiber art work that showcases green burials by fashion studies professor Sherry Haar.

coming up soon!

Have you booked your spot for our next event - LESSONS LEARNED: The evolution of home funerals across continents

The UK and the USA have led the way on home funerals for decades now and as we start to build these practices and communities in Australia, it can help to know where they have come from in modern times and their history. There are lessons with what works and what does not and good people making a real difference in communities around the world. Hosted by Claire Turnham and Lee Webster, they will offer honest, candid conversations about home funerals and the ways in which we can build community knowledge and practice in Australia.

Bookings are essential and are NOW OPEN for this event via https://shorturl.at/RnQeC

Setting this here gently:

I kept my 10-year-old daughter at home after she died – the decision changed everything As I reflect back on Neve’s final days and weeks, my overriding recollection is of a pervasive precariousness. So much uncertainty, pain, loss of dignity, and complex and acute needs. All of this, and more, on the back of three years of illness and emotional trauma. I was on edge and hyper-vigilan...

https://youtu.be/A4-5yjxdON4

The Phone of the Wind: On Siting and Installation with Dina Stander & Amy Connelly Dawson A lively hour of conversation and Q&A with Dina and Amy about the Phone of the Wind and what to consider when you are siting and installing one. And our hope...

I collected and expanded on some of what I've posted here recently and wove it into a blog post.

On Wayfinding, Embodiment, & Death's Door: a celebration of life Sometimes, to find my way I go and do and risk.

BIG congratulations to our friends and colleagues around the curve in the earth! It takes so long to get things done, but once the ball gets rolling, it rolls!

Australia's first entirely-natural burial cemetery just opened, with no gravestones, only gumtrees Looking for an environmentally useful alternative to a traditional burial or cremation? In an Australian first, this all-natural burial cemetery might just be your idea of heaven.

News from Tasmania:

The new wave of body disposal: alkaline hydrolysis | The Bottom Drawer Book A step-by-step guide to water cremation or alkaline hydrolysis.

I had a lively chat with Dr. Karen Wyatt at the End of Life University podcast. Super pleased to be able to share.
Ep. 458 The Phone of the Wind: Connecting with Those We Grieve with Dina Stander. Learn how the “phone of the wind” can help us establish continuing bonds with our loved ones who have died.

End of Life University Real talk about life and death

Update from the Q***r Pride Desk: Coincidentally, June kicks off the opening sessions of a collaborative pilot project I am consulting with. We're (learning from and) training community volunteers to engage in doula-informed end-of-life conversation, companionship, and support that is attuned to the needs of 2SLGBTQ+ persons/families. We had our second session last night and I am delighted with the collaborative willingness, curiosity, and presence of everyone in the cohort. Meanwhile I have been adding pieces to my own resource archives. Posting this free, culturally appropriate advance directive tool from SAGE, in case this is useful for you and your family. Here is the link too:
https://www.lgbtagingcenter.org/resources/resource.cfm?r=2181

Ha!

Send a message to learn more

Update from the Circles-go-Round Department: A photo of a headstone in my inbox this morning... Familiar words because, after listening carefully to what they learned from their dad, I wrote this life advice into his funeral service. And they became an epitaph! As a person who regularly strolls in cemeteries reading headstones, I am deeply humbled and honored to see these words engraved for fellow travelers to come across.

Send a message to learn more

Thank goodness they return, year after year, for their moments dancing in the sun.

"Liz Carr’s newest groundbreaking documentary on assisted su***de is a in-depth exploration of the emotions and societal pressures that lie at the heart of disability opposition to a public policy that threatens ours lives." https://notdeadyet.org/actress-and-activist-liz-carr-creates-blistering-documentary-on-assisted-su***de/

As an end-of-life navigator I get asked about my stand on MAiD (medical aid in dying). My ready answer is 'it depends'. I am not opposed. And... As a disabled person I have deep misgivings about who gets to weigh the value of my life against the burden of my care. People do say, "If I had your issues I wouldn't want to live." It would be rude for me to punch them in the face... even if I've just been (verbally) punched in the gut. If instead they say "I don't know how I would live...," well that is a different conversation. Meanwhile, in the UK MAiD is closer to being available. I am sharing this documentary (youtube link at bottom of post) about medical aid in dying, this time centering the perspective of disabled people. Especially if you are an able person who supports MAiD, this is a perspective to consider and understand. In the US, whether or not we have MAiD available in our State, you may find yourself in the position of being an ally of a disabled person who wants to live. I have not seen the film yet, it is in my queue. Offering food for thought here, not trying to change anyone's mind. Here are links to 2 reviews of the film. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/may/14/better-off-dead-review-liz-carr-disabled-people-assisted-dying

Here is a link to watch the film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G_xF4dvS-U

Better Off Dead? review – Liz Carr’s blistering film may well change your mind about assisted dying As the UK edges towards legalising the right to die for those with terminal illness, the wickedly funny actor’s subversive documentary exposes the huge risks it poses for disabled people

Recently recorded podcast just went live. Denise Schwartz is a good interviewer!I had a lot of fun with this conversation. And we are going to do it again soon. I can tell from the 'um' frequency that my thought-to-speech pathways are not fully recovered from recent surgery, and yet I think I mostly make sense!

Backyard Oasis - What Do "Death Doulas" Do? | RSS.com Your host Denise Schwartz and death doula Dina Stander talk about how a doula may help a dying person. as well as the person’s family, friends and care circle members, plan and prepare for what's to come.Hosted by Denise SchwartzProduced by Alex Audette in the Teaching and Learning Innovation Cent...

Celebrating Montague MA! This is a great example of local cemetery commissioners responding to citizen requests and establishing ground where the community can return to traditional natural burial practices. Montague-based funerary artisans Last Dance Shrouds and Fraser Baskets were on hand for show & tell. I am encouraged by this gentle wave of green burial grounds being established in town cemeteries throughout New England. (link in comments to find out how to do this in your town!) Green Burial! Back by popular demand 🌱 🐝 🌺 🌈
Happy May!
*
Photos thanks to The Montague Reporter: guests on a wooded path passing a group of singers as they tour the burial ground, and me with a happy grin sitting next to a wooden rack with folded cloth shrouds.

Why I Wake Early, by Mary Oliver

Hello, sun in my face.

Hello, you who made the morning

and spread it over the fields

and into the faces of the tulips

and the nodding morning glories,

and into the windows of, even, the

miserable and the crotchety –

best preacher that ever was,

dear star, that just happens

to be where you are in the universe

to keep us from ever-darkness,

to ease us with warm touching,

to hold us in the great hands of light –

good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day

in happiness, in kindness.

It is an immense privilege to live where I do, a place where cultural resources are more valued than other places in the US. I learned last week that I am the recipient of a substantial Cultural Council Grant for Creative Individuals. A lot of equally deserving creative people (and many friends) applied for a slice of this pie. I am humbled to be a recipient and will cook up something interactive that one way or another raises all of our boats... Thank you Commonwealth of Massachusetts for this support!

... for the curious! how to become a hybrid cemetery!
This course was created and presented by cemetery experts at Life Forest. In this 1-hour presentation you will learn what a green burial is, what a hybrid cemetery is, and what considerations should be taken when establishing a hybrid cemetery.

Becoming a Hybrid Cemetery This course was created and presented by cemetery experts at Life Forest. In this 1-hour presentation you will learn what a green burial is, what a hybrid cemetery is, and what considerations should be taken when establishing a hybrid cemetery.

Congratulations Montague! and a tip of my cap to Judith Lorei. Another sign that Cemetery Commissions in small town are responding to residents (and good sense), establishing new natural burial grounds. Serendipitously, Montague also hosts the studios of two green burial artisans, Last Dance Shrouds and Fraser Baskets. Event details: April 27th starting at 10am. Taking place at 398 Millers Falls Rd, Montague MA. Rain or shine.

Death Cafes have planted a seed! People are coming to understand that talking about the changes we face is good. From my perspective, these gatherings have promoted death wellness. Now people are creating Climate Cafes! One good thing leads to another. No paywall for this article.

Can Climate Cafes Help Ease the Anxiety of Planetary Crisis? (Gift Article) The groups, which are springing up across the country, allow people to talk through their emotions around environmental change.