Death & Dying
From food webs to the forest floor, nature doesn't just tolerate death but thrives on it. When we allow ourselves to step beyond the taboo of talking about death, we can cultivate better relationships with ourselves, our loved ones, and the planet that we inhabit.
Cape Elizabeth Death Café Resources
Davinica facilitates a Death Café on the first Thursday of every month at the Thomas Memorial Library in Cape Elizabeth from 6:30-8:00 pm.
At a Death Café, people gather to eat, drink tea, and discuss death. The objective is ‘to increase awareness of death to help people make the most of the (finite) lives. A Death Café is a group-directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives, or themes. It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counseling session.
Death Cafés are offered on a not-for-profit basis, in an accessible, respectful, and confidential space, and with no intention of leading people to any conclusion, product, or course of action. The Death Café model was developed in 2010 by Jon Underwood and Sue Barsky Reid, based on the ideas of Bernard Crettaz. Learn more at www.deathcafe.com.
Local Death Doulas, Death & Dying Companions, and Educators
Books
The Art of Dying Well: A Practical Guide to a Good End of Life by Katy Butler
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty
The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life’s Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos, RN
Grave History: Death, Race, and Gender in Southern Cemeteries (textbook)
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune (a fictional book about a literal death cafe!)
Articles & Studies
What Does Death Positive Mean? (The Order of the Good Death)
Exploring End-of-Life Practices Among Jews of Color: Insights from erica riddick’s Study (Jews of Color Initative)
Shining the Light of Death on Life: Maranasati Meditation Part 1 (Barre Center for Buddhist Studies)
Understanding Conservation Burial (Baldwin Hill Conservation Burial)
Death has a big carbon footprint. Maine’s first conservation cemetery offers an alternative (Maine Public Radio)
All Equal in Death? Fighting Inequality in the Contemporary Funeral Industry (Study by Luc Audebrand and Marcos Barros)
The ultimate green burial? Human composting lets you replenish the Earth after death (Maine Public Radio)
Why I Write My Own Obituary Every Year (New York Times)
Surviving Spouses May Not Be Responsible for Partners’ Medical Bills (New York Times)
After Your Death, Who Takes Care of the Dog? (New York Times)
What Are Wind Phones, and How Do They Help With Grief? (Smithsonian Magazine)
The Family Recipes That Live on in Cemeteries (Atlas Obscura)
Life After Death: America’s Cemeteries Are Rewilding (New York Times)
Podcasts
A Path Home (topic: home funerals)
Videos
Deeply Rooted (topic: conservation burials)
Environmentally Conscious Death
Baldwin Hill Conservation Cemetery, Winthrop
Cedar Brook Burial Ground, Limington
Burr Cemetery, Freeport
Natural Green Cremation at Direct Cremation of Maine (Alkaline Hydrolysis/Water Cremation)
Good Ground, Great Beyond (Advocacy for open-air cremation in Maine)
Tracker: Where is Human Composting Legal in the US? (Maine passed an unfunded bill in 2024)
End-of-life Planning
End-of-Life Planning Guide (Die Well Death Education)
Last Things (Resource for home funerals in Maine)
End of Life Planning (Order of the Good Death)
Pets & Animals
Compassionate Composting (Pets & large animals)
Aquamation Services of Maine (Pets)
Maine Audubon - Birdsafe Maine (Community science & advocacy related to bird strike deaths)
Maine Big Night (Community science project helping amphibians across the road while collecting valuable data on deaths caused by drivers)
Other
Cemetery Conservation Class (Millenial Stone Cleaner)
Storied (A local business that helps you record your oral history and memories)
Storyworth (Compile your story and memories into a book through daily questions)
Postal Service for the Dead (Send letters to people in your life who have died)