Purchase The Death Talk Recording
On September 28th, we hosted The Death Talk to a live, sold-out audience in West Vancouver, BC. On October 13th, we presented The Death Talk ~ Virtual to a sold-out audience online, with guests joining from around the world.
For $15 CAD, you can now purchase the 2 hour edited version, complete with four powerful presentations, a thought-provoking roundtable discussions, and a Q/A with Sheryl MacKay. Upon purchase, you will be sent a link to our pre-recorded presentation to watch on your own time.
Who We Are
We are a collective of end-of-life care providers who are working together to ‘do death differently’. We are passionate about shifting the narratives surrounding death, dying and grief, and we are driven by a desire to better support our community.
We’re part of a global deathcare movement that is inspiring millions of people to ask the question: how can we better support ourselves and each other at the end of life?
What This Is
The Death Talk was inspired by conversations we have with people around the world every single day. We want to share our experiences, dispel some myths, and answer any questions you might have about death and dying.
The event consists of four powerful presentations, a round table discussion, and a question and answer period. We cover a wide-range of topics and share personal stories along the way.
Why We're Doing It
This is ‘the talk’ you likely never had growing up. We live in a death-denying society that doesn’t always know what to do or say when it comes to end-of-life. We want to normalize talking about death, dying and grief.
We believe it’s never too early to talk about death, and the more we talk about it, the better off we will be. We also want to make these conversations light and easy, offering you a place to start.
Talking about death won't kill you ~ in fact, studies have shown that it's better for our overall health & wellness to talk about death and dying well before we need to.
The Speakers
Christa Ovenell
Christa is a licensed funeral director & embalmer, end-of-life doula and founder of Death’s Apprentice Education & Planning, a company specializing in holistic advance care planning for individuals and groups. She’s also a WillowEOL educator.
Emily Bootle
Emily is a licensed funeral director, end-of-life doula, funeral celebrant, and death educator. She started DeathcareBC, a community education platform aimed at bridging the gap between healthcare and after-death care.
Christina Andreola
Christina runs New Narrative Events, an event planning company specializing in celebrations of life and hybrid events, combining the in-person experience with virtual attendees from around the world.
Megan Sheldon
Megan is the co-founder of Be Ceremonial, a guided ritual App focused on ceremonies across the life cycle. She is a Cultural Mythologist, Funeral Celebrant, and End of Life Doula with a passion for creating secular ceremonies and grief rituals.
Moderated by Sheryl MacKay
Sheryl MacKay is a radio and television broadcaster with more than four decades of experience. She was host and producer of CBC's North by Northwest and she recently launched: Listen With Sheryl Mackay. She is a newly trained End of Life Doula and is wanting to shine a light on conversations that surround death, dying and grief.
Topics Include:
- Holistic advance care planning
- Navigating healthcare and deathcare
- End of life decisions and options, including MAiD
- Green burial, direct cremation, aquamation
- Living funerals, celebrations of life, and ceremony ideas
- Talking to kids about death and dying
- Grief rituals and death anniversaries
Interested in learning more?
- Watch Alua Arthur’s TED Talk: Why thinking about death helps you live a better life
- Take the End of Life Doula course at Douglas College
- Check out The Death Deck ~ a party game to share stories about life and death
- Read our post The Role of the Death Doula
- Free tools from WillowEOL Education
