Beverly Thorn, a psychologist and certified End-Of-Life Doula will discuss her new book, Before I Lose My Own Mind: Navigating Life as a Dementia Caregiver, telling her own personal story of caring for her husband with dementia, from the lens of a psychologist and death doula. The book is aimed at caring for the caregiver, who often gets overlooked in terms of their own care needs. Knowledge about the disorder provides a coping base, and planning and ongoing conversation provides the glue to hold the caregiver together during this long trajectory.

The crisis of a dementia diagnosis is sobering, but also an opportunity. Since dementia is not an all or nothing thing, there is time before one loses decisional capacity to consider and talk about their life values, healthcare and dementia care preferences along the dementia trajectory, and their end-of-life wishes. Planning and communication are key in a society where no one wants to talk about dementia or death. Loved ones and potential caregivers also need to be in the know so that they can make life-altering decisions once the person with dementia is no longer able to do so.

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Join us at the Hemlock Open Forum, a free meeting to discuss death openly. Our aim is to raise awareness about mortality and help people live fully through honest conversations. This is not a grief support group or counseling session, but a safe space to share thoughts and feelings about the end of life, and learn how to prepare for a good death. Refreshments will be served.

We are honored to bring you a meeting you won’t forget. Our guest speaker, Jim Van Buskirk, is a writer, editor, and public speaker who has cohosted Death Cafes since 2015, and volunteers as a Regional Coordinator for Final Exit Network (FEN). Jim will discuss his new book and answer questions from the audience. More about the book: There at the End: An anthology celebrating FEN’s 20th anniversary

“Having co-edited two anthologies and contributed to many more, I felt I had the skills to compile the book, and a dedicated team was brought on board to manage the project. We are honored to include original reminiscences from pioneers Derek Humphry, Faye Girsh, and Myriam Coppens. This is not a history of FEN, nor an articulation of policies, procedures, or polemics. It is personal voices telling their stories – offering a never-before-seen portrait of FEN’s committed and compassionate volunteers as well as their grateful clientele.” ~Jim Van Buskirk

Join us on Zoom to meet Jim and learn about the true stories of participants in FEN’s Exit Guide Program – clients and/or their friends and family, as well as FEN’s many volunteers. This meeting is free, open to all, and sure to be a fascinating experience. Please help us spread the word! Register for the Zoom link: Click Here