Natural Death Salon

Natural Death Salon

The benefits of family-led, ‘green’ funerals versus funeral director-led

funerals

Sunday 24 May 2015

2.30pm  – 5.30pm

20 Heber Road, London NW2 6AA

£15 (prebooking only) Places are limited.

To attend please contact Josefine at josefine@josefinespeyer.com

This afternoon is a chance to think and talk about funerals. To start off the discussion, Josefine will give a talk using a powerpoint presentation drawing in part on feedback from workshop participants and from families who contacted the Natural Death Centre, during 1993 – 2005, a time when the natural death movement was burgeoning and natural burial and D-I-Y ‘green’ funerals became a growing trend. The feedback is completely biased and critical of the conventional, Victorian style funeral. The people either had an interest in family-organised, ‘green’ (environmentally friendly) funerals or had personal experiences of organizing such a funeral. Since 2005 there has been a worldwide trend of ‘home funerals’, natural burials and a move away from funerals being funeral director led or directed to being family-led or family-organized and personalized and the family taking a more active role.

The focus of the talk is to rethink funerals and to learn from what people have done and what can be done, what people have found helpful and unhelpful. The discussion might range from sharing positive or negative experiences of funerals to what people might wish to avoid in funerals and how they might take a more active role in the future, aware of possible choices.

A small buffet will be provided to accompany teas and coffee during the break.

Josefine Speyer is a psychotherapist, co-founder of the Natural Death Centre (1991) which has spearheaded the natural death movement particularly during the 1990’s. She is a co-founder of the Befriending Network (1994); a co-editor of the Natural Death Handbook (2003), and a contributor to the Natural Death Handbook (2012). She offers death education, and has hosted Salons at her home for many years as part of the NDC’s educational program.

What is a Salon?  The great European tradition of Salons originated in Italy in the 16^th Century. Salons became fashionable in France during the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th Century when women invited artists and philosophers for discussion and exchange of ideas to their ‘Salon’ (large reception room) in their home. The Natural Death Salon offers the chance to talk about death in the relaxed and comfortable atmosphere of Josefine’s spacious living room.