OUR PROGRAMS

“a beginner’s guide to the end” book club

Note: This was not my program, it was offered by RoundGlass EOL, one of my favorite resources for inspiration and information about all things end-of-life. I had the honor of being one of the sponsors of a program in December 2019 hosted by Family Action Network (FAN) when Dr. BJ Miller and Shoshana Berger came through Chicagoland and were in conversation promoting their book, A Beginner’s Guide To The End. Click here to be directed to RoundGlass EOL’s website to learn more about the organization.

From RoundGlass EOL’s website: “The end of a life can often feel like a traumatic, chaotic and inhuman experience. In this reassuring and inspiring book, palliative care physician Dr. BJ Miller and writer Shoshana Berger provide a vision for rethinking and navigating this universal process.

‘There is nothing wrong with you for dying,’ hospice physician B.J. Miller and journalist and caregiver Shoshana Berger write in A Beginner’s Guide to the End. ‘Our ultimate purpose here isn’t so much to help you die as it is to free up as much life as possible until you do.’

This is a clear-eyed and big-hearted action plan for approaching the end of life, written to help readers feel more in control of an experience that so often seems anything but controllable. Their book offers everything from step-by-step instructions for how to do your paperwork and navigate the healthcare system to answers to questions you might be afraid to ask your doctor, like whether or not sex is still okay when you’re sick. Get advice for how to break the news to your employer, whether to share old secrets with your family, how to face friends who might not be as empathetic as you’d hoped, and how to talk to your children about your will. (Don’t worry: if anyone gets snippy, it’ll likely be their spouses, not them.) There are also lessons for survivors, like how to shut down a loved one’s social media accounts, clean out the house, and write a great eulogy.

An honest, surprising, and detail-oriented guide to the most universal of all experiences, A Beginner’s Guide to the End is ‘a book that every family should have, the equivalent of Dr. Spock but for this other phase of life’ (New York Times bestselling author Dr. Abraham Verghese).”

PAST PROGRAMS

longest night 2021

Tuesday, December 21, 2021          

Gorton Community Center, Lake Forest

Free of charge

The holidays can be a time when we may find ourselves in need of reassurance and comfort, especially this year after the deep pause of 2020.  Perhaps we are grieving over the loss of a friend or loved one, struggling with illness or have experienced the loss of a job. Maybe we’re experiencing a sense of discomfort that is hard to name as we yearn for life as it was before the pandemic. 

Is it possible to hold grief and gratitude simultaneously? Is there pressure in the expectation for making merry, when what we might require is a dose of comfort alongside the joy?

Those seeking comfort and hope, wholeness and renewal, please join us on the longest night of the year for quiet reflection, readings from books of meditations and poetry, and music. All are welcome to this interfaith/non-denominational service.

Hosted by The Community Church and Lydia Backer, MSW, LCSW of Life & Death. Music curated and performed by Ken Hall, The Community Church’s Minister of Music. Funding provided by Forest & Found.

See the movie “coco” and take home a sugar skull decorating kit for dia de los muertos

What a successful first time program in partnership with Gorton Community Center! The crowd of moviegoers was small, but mighty. We had 50 sugar skull decorating kits to distribute as a “grab and go” activity, and ALL were grabbed and taken. Next year, an in-person decorating program will definitely be on the books.

I requested that artists send me pictures of their completed sugar skulls; the results so far are featured on a blog page on this website. Click the link below to hop to that page:

Sugar Skulls for Day of the Dead/Calaveritas de Azúcar para el Dìa de los Muertos

Saturday, October 30, 2021

John & Nancy Hughes Theater

Gorton Community Center Lake Forest

do it yourself “longest Night” ritual

For the past three years, we have hosted this seasonal service in support of the community, to create a space where conflicting and often uncomfortable emotions can be held and validated at this time that is typically celebratory in nature. This year, our best efforts have been foiled by our need to distance in order to stay healthy and safe.

 To those seeking comfort and hope, wholeness and renewal, please create for yourself a time of quiet reflection on December 21st, the Longest Night of the year. Enjoy resources, new and old, posted on the Life & Death Blog page for your use. It is our hope that the darkness on the night of the Winter Solstice will be a source of solace and growth as we all look ahead toward the light.

the fine art of obituary writing

In this unique and interactive virtual program, five-time Grimmy award winner Maureen O’Donnell and Executive Director of the Museum of Broadcast Communications Susy Schultz explore the ins and outs of crafting a personal, honest, and memorable obituary.

Listen in as Susy and Maureen discuss Maureen’s career as an award-winning obituary writer. Watch videos and see examples of some of Maureen’s best obituaries, as well as some of her most challenging. Then, be sure to have pen and paper handy as Susy and Maureen lead a brief writing workshop on crafting your own obituary. Offered by History Center Lake Forest-Lake Bluff , co-hosted by the Museum of Broadcast Communications. Life & Death is a sponsor of this informative program.

Questions? Contact aschneider@lflbhistory.org

Grief River® Game night for professionals

Grief River® is a game based on a metaphorical approach for understanding loss across the lifespan, developed by Dr. Thom Dennis, DMin, LCPC, CT. For more than 25 years, Thom has helped individuals and families come to terms with the death of loved ones. He will give a brief presentation on the Grief River® model, and then attendees will play the game. A Q&A conversation will conclude the evening’s experience. Light snacks, sweets, water/sparkling water and tea will be available while we play.

Life & Death provides general educational information, some of which may come from mental health professionals, but you should not substitute information on the Life & Death or Resources’ websites for professional advice.