"It's Complicated" Support Group
2025-12-11 17:30 - 19:00, 2026-01-08 17:30 - 19:00, 2026-02-12 17:30 - 19:00, 2026-03-12 17:30 - 19:00, 2026-04-09 17:30 - 19:00 (America/Denver) | Virtual Event
A monthly peer-led Zoom group for people who had a strained relationship with someone who’s died. It can be tough to be in a group with other folks who were close with their parent, sibling, grandparent, partner, co-parent, friend, etc. As much as I like for there to be a range of experiences represented in grief groups, so that we can hear diverse perspectives, sometimes it is nice to be with people who “get it.” When addiction, mental health challenges, conflict, estrangement, abuse, etc. were a part of the picture, it can affect the grief journey in unique ways. This is a space for us.

TalkDeath Book Club | Achille Mbembe's Necropolitics
2025-12-13 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Toronto) | NC
Join us to discuss Achille Mbembe’s Necropolitics with each other via Zoom on Saturday, December 13th at 2pm ET/ 1pm CT/ 12pm MT/ 11am PT
Join TalkDeath’s Book Club as we discuss Achille Mbembe’s Necropolitics.
“In Necropolitics Achille Mbembe, a leader in the new wave of francophone critical theory, theorizes the genealogy of the contemporary world, a world plagued by ever-increasing inequality, militarization, enmity, and terror as well as by a resurgence of racist, fascist, and nationalist forces determined to exclude and kill. He outlines how democracy has begun to embrace its dark side—what he calls its ‘nocturnal body’—which is based on the desires, fears, affects, relations, and violence that drove colonialism. This shift has hollowed out democracy, thereby eroding the very values, rights, and freedoms liberal democracy routinely celebrates. As a result, war has become the sacrament of our times in a conception of sovereignty that operates by annihilating all those considered enemies of the state. Despite his dire diagnosis, Mbembe draws on post-Foucauldian debates on biopolitics, war, and race as well as Fanon’s notion of care as a shared vulnerability to explore how new conceptions of the human that transcend humanism might come to pass. These new conceptions would allow us to encounter the Other not as a thing to exclude but as a person with whom to build a more just world.”
Whether you are a death care worker, scholar, or every day person trying to contemplate death, dying, and structures of power, you are welcome.
Guests are welcome to attend on or off camera, to be on or off mute, and to share as much or as little as they prefer.
We’ll be meeting to discuss the book with each other on Saturday, December 13th’s we’ll meet virtually via Zoom.
This event is free but you must RSVP to receive the Zoom link. The Zoom link will be sent to guests 48 and 24 hours in advance, kindly check your spam folder if you do not receive it.

Childfree By Choice & Grieving
2025-12-15 17:30 - 19:00, 2026-01-19 17:30 - 19:00, 2026-02-16 17:30 - 19:00, 2026-03-16 17:30 - 19:00, 2026-04-20 17:30 - 19:00 (America/Denver) | Virtual Event
It’s not a given that everyone who is childfree by choice is 100%, unabashedly content with the decision. While we may be set in our choice, there can still be grief there. I know there is for me. It’s a both-and/two truths situation. Many of us make this choice for a lot of unfortunate, depressing, and/or systemic reasons, and I created this space where we can be with our truths, and hurts, around it all.
Our monthly peer-led Zoom group is intended to be a space for people who have chosen not to have children. It is not intended to be a child-loss support group or infertility support group, although if you have prior experience with infertility and/or pregnancy loss and have since decided to not have children (meaning you are now childfree by choice) feel free to join and see if it’s a good fit.

The Good Death Book Club Experience FREE 12-Month Death and Dying Course
2026-01-08 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-02-12 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-03-12 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-04-09 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | NC
According to a recent AARP study, there are over 52 million caregivers in the United States right now—and 70% of them say they are overwhelmed. Every single day, I receive messages from current and former caregivers who say:
“I wish I had this knowledge when I was caring for my loved one.”
Or:
“The Doulagivers training is helping me more than I can say.”
The truth is:
We will all have a caregiving story.
Let’s make sure yours is one filled with support, empowerment, and peace.
That’s why I created The GOOD DEATH BOOK CLUB Experience: Death and Dying Course—a free, live, 12-month educational journey through my bestselling book The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One Through the End of Life.
What It Is:
Each month, we explore one chapter of The Good Death together.
You’ll receive:
-A live End of life teaching course with me, Suzanne B. O’Brien, RN
-A guided workbook and downloadable companion guide
-A group discussion and experiential exercise
-A full 12 month Death and Dying Course for free
Who It’s For:
-Current and future caregivers ( all of us )
-Death Doulas, aspiring Death Doulas, medical professionals
-Individuals seeking grief healing and emotional support
-Anyone who wants spiritual inspiration and empowerment around death, aging, and life itself
Why It Matters:
Death is 100% guaranteed—and yet, our modern culture has stripped away the education and sacredness that used to surround it.
This lack of awareness is contributing to unnecessary fear, trauma, and prolonged suffering and grief.
But death is not the enemy.
It is our greatest teacher about how to truly live.
When we return death to its place as a natural, sacred transition, we begin to reclaim peace, presence, and purpose in our lives and communities TODAY!
What You Can Do:
Join The Experience and Share with Your Friends!

Becky Robison in conversation with Kaira Tucker
2026-01-14 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Kentucky/Louisville) | Carmichael’s Bookstore, 2720 Frankfort Avenue, Louisville, KY, 40206, United States
Louisville! To celebrate the launch of my new book, My Parents Are Dead: What Now? A Panic-Free Guide to the Practicalities of Death, join me at Carmichael’s on Frankfort for a discussion and book signing with everyone’s favorite local librarian, cemetery enthusiast, and certified goth, Kaira Tucker.

When Grief Shows Up in the Body
2026-01-15 15:30 - 16:15 (America/New_York) | NC
Join Camila Crews, founder of Sorry For Your Loss (Cards), and Susan Koursaris, founder of Wholly Heart Nutrition, for a conversation on how grief shows up in the body and how movement and food can support healing.
January is Self Love Month, making this a good time to talk about gentle ways to care for yourself without pressure or perfection. This conversation is not about fixing grief. It is about understanding your body and meeting yourself with compassion.

Intro to the Gates of Grief
2026-01-16 12:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | NC
Grab your lunch or favorite tea and join us for a session with Rebecca Churt, Founder of The Grievery.
​This 50-minute introductory session offers a guided walk through a framework that expands grief far beyond death — into the realms of identity, longing, lost opportunities, and the quiet heartache we carry for a fractured world.
​We’ll take a concise tour of Francis Weller’s Gates of Grief (from The Wild Edge of Sorrow) and explore how grief — when acknowledged rather than avoided — becomes a vital life skill: helping us stay connected to ourselves and what matters most.
​This session is an invitation to explore grief with curiosity — not to fix anything or relive pain, but to make room for what has long wanted to be named, opening the door to greater clarity, resilience, and meaning.

Life After Loss- Addressing Grief Aftermath: Coping, Meaning Making, and Healing In the Weeks, Months, and Years After Loss
2026-01-22 09:00 - 2026-01-23 12:00 (America/Toronto) | NC
Join us at the Center for Applied Research Solutions to create and engage in rich learning that focuses on grief work that we often miss: the long-term experiences, processes, and impacts of grief for young people, and how we as providers, systems leaders, and culture builders can skill ourselves up to attend to the aftermath with as much attention as the acute.
Thanks to the generous support of the New York Life Foundation (New York Life Insurance Company) and the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG), we are offering this event to help you build the skills to navigate the long-term impacts of grief.
🗓️ WHEN: Thursday, January 22 & Friday, January 23, 2026
💻 WHERE: Virtual (join from anywhere!)
💸 COST: FREE
What you’ll gain:
– Strategies to address trauma, memorialization, and commemoration.
– Skills to interrupt isolation and support long-term healing.
– A deeper understanding of how grief can encompass both joy and deep sadness.
Day 1: Main Summit — Jan 22
⏰ 9:00am–2:00pm PT / 12:00–5:00pm ET
Day 2: Providers’ Processing Space — Jan 23
⏰ 9:00am–12:00pm PT / 12:00–3:00pm ET
Day 1 – Thursday, January 22nd – topics will focus on the aftermath: the weeks, months, and years after big events and how grief can be both experiences of joy and celebration and isolation and deep sadness. Day 1 of the summit includes talks from/with Teddy McGlynn-Wright, workshops with Carla Fernandez, Tina Rocha, Samira Moosavi and our team, two panels of educators, behavioral health providers, and leaders (Taj Jensen, Amy Castellanos, Shefa Obaid, Desralynn Cole, CPPM, Meghan Graham, LCSW, Scott Lindstrom, Rosaura Orengo-Aguayo,PhD, and more) sharing how they navigate grief aftermath leadership post wildfire, hurricane, state violence, substance use, and social media harm. That amazing day closes with Dr. Zelana Montminy, whose words of reflection on focus and griefscape will move us all.
Importantly, Day 2 – Friday, January 23rd – focuses on provider processing: often, providers (whether clinical providers, systems leaders, or educators) hold their own grief metabolization on pause while they support children and youth in acute need, featuring an opening talk by Candice Rose Valenzuela, a discussion with Ebony Sinnamon-Johnson, Jerica Coffey, and Jesus Solorio, LMFT, a somatic workshop with Sue Kuyper, and a closing art practice with Oriana Ides.
Through meaningful workshops, panels, keynotes, and discussion forums that focus on grief aftermath, we will support professionals who work with young people to feel efficacious, empowered, and energized with strategies and skills that support young people in navigating all that comes with aftermath coping and healing: addressing trauma and grief activation, memorialization and commemoration, interrupting isolation and disenfranchised grief, structural strategies to ensure ongoing, responsive care.
Register, see the full agenda and faculty bios here! https://www.cars-rp.org/life-after-loss

What Will Become of Us? Burial, Cremation, and Other Forms of Disposition
2026-01-29 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Toronto) | NC
What will become of us? Join a free online webinar to explore burial, cremation & natural burial options. Register for link + recording.
Learn about burial, cremation, and other end-of-life options in the National Capital Region.
Conservation Burial Ottawa invites you to a Zoom call on January 29 at 7:00 pm to explore the choices available for the care of physical remains after death. Understanding these options can help us plan a meaningful farewell and make decisions that align with our values.
You’ll also learn why Conservation Burial Ottawa advocates for conservation burial! This webinar is fee to attend.
Please pre-register to receive the Zoom link and the event recording. Some information will be specific to the Ottawa region, but all are welcome. https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/APEsBtEARrSNlgIoCTcQ6A
Photo credit to Ramsey Creek Preserve in South Carolina.

Teeth Become Weapons: Trans Grief and Rage
2026-02-17 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Toronto) | Zoom, Cornelius, NC, 28031
Queer Death Salon is a community space for all 2SLGBTQIA+ people to come together to discuss death, dying and grief. It is a facilitated drop-in discussion space, with the purpose of building connection, skill, and resources for 2SLGBTQIA+ people navigating end of life in our personal lives and in our communities.
Our bodies, lives, and very beings are increasingly politicized.
Our stories and histories are flattened, made palatable for the sake of survival.
Our unique grief becomes increasingly buried and unheard, unshared.
What makes it unique?
What do we grieve?
How does that grief affect us?
What prevents us from engaging with that grief?
How does our grief connect us and bring us together?
Facilitator Imogen Reid is the last of the feral trans women, a proud dirtbag, degenerate, and fuck up. She is a harm reduction advocate and educator, a former founding member of Communities Organizing for Harm Reduction, one of the first organized groups in Ottawa doing harm reduction before there were any safe sites. Imogen is a recovering drug addict, survivor, fighter, activist, shoplifter, parent, story teller, and the holder of the memories of her dead.
Queer Death Salon takes place over Zoom, in English, with Automatic Closed Captioning

Book Club Author Kelly Cervantes discusses her book The Luckiest with Befriending Death
2026-02-25 20:00 - 21:30 (America/Toronto) | Online
The Luckiest by Kelly Cervantes (with the author) on Wednesday February 25th 5:00 – 6:30 PM (PT) 8-9:30 (ET)
We are so looking forward to the return of Kelly who spoke to our book club last year with Normal Broken, describing her journey raising and losing her daughter to a neurodegenerative disorder and epilepsy.
Here’s a description of The Luckiest:
When moving from a conservative Midwestern suburb to New York City to pursue an acting career, Kelly Cervantes never could have imagined what life had in store for her—or how much she would fundamentally change along the way. The Luckiest is her emotional journey through the pain of unrealized dreams, navigating her husband’s Broadway spotlight, fighting for her child’s life, finding purpose after loss, and rebuilding her life and marriage.
Inspired by author and poet Maggie Smith’s quote, “We are all nesting dolls, carrying the earlier iterations of ourselves inside,” Kelly shares the many layers that have shaped who she is today. But how many of those layers were shaped through the control she desperately sought versus the luck she struggled to accept? Are we lucky if we escape life with soft skin and minimal layers? Or are we lucky to have the battle scars that show a life of survival—of fullness and meaning?
The Luckiest is a tale of motherhood in all its heartbreak, joy, fits, and false starts. It follows Kelly’s wildly unpredictable journey and the role luck has played in her life, both good and bad. It is one woman’s beautiful, complicated, and ongoing quest for self-discovery.

Grief Visions - Intuitive Collage Workshop
2026-02-26 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Toronto) | Online
Vision board + grief + collage = Grief
Visions! Join That Good Night for an evening of meditation, visualization, and making your own unique grief vision board. We will have gentle conversations about our grief, time to visualize our grief, and engage in the healing activity of collage.

Yoga for Grief
2026-03-10 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Toronto) | Zoom, Cornelius, NC, 28031
Queer Death Salon is a community space for all 2SLGBTQIA+ people to come together to discuss death, dying and grief. It is a facilitated drop-in discussion space, with the purpose of building connection, skill, and resources for 2SLGBTQIA+ people navigating end of life in our personal lives and in our communities.
Join Yoga Therapist in training, Des for a trauma-informed yoga practice.
Explore yogic practices, such as pranayama/breath work, asana/physical shapes, and pratyahara/tuning inward to aid in processing grief.
Des (they/them) is a Yoga Guide and Grief Doula who lives, breathes, and plays on Michi Saagiig Anishnaabeg territory, Treaty 20, and the Williams Treaties in Nogojiwanong, what is colonially know as “Peterborough, ON” in so-called “Canada.” Nogojiwanong means “the place at the end of the rapids” in Ojibwe.
Queer Death Salon takes place over Zoom, in English, with Automatic Closed Captioning

The Friday the 13th Summit: Life, After Life, and the Bridge Between
2026-03-13 19:00 - 2026-03-15 23:30 (America/New_York) | Online
While Friday the 13th is often depicted as an ominous day of bad luck, we’re here to appreciate the occasion with some inquisitive and thoughtful fun. Join us as we discuss, discover, uncover, and connect the known with the unknown, the seen with the unseen, and the felt with the body, mind, and heart. We’ll explore the depth and width of life, after life, and the bridge between and turn this into an auspicious date we look forward to!
Enjoy a non-spooky Friday the 13th of death positivity – let’s talk about an inevitable part of life.

Laughing in the Face of Death
2026-03-16 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Kentucky/Louisville) | Online
Why so serious? From gallows humor to the joy of celebrating a life well-lived, Becky Robison—author of the new book My Parents Are Dead: What Now? A Panic-Free Guide to the Practicalities of Death—will offer fun, silly, and passionate pathways into the inevitability of death and dying to make necessary preparations less intimidating.
Register on Morbid Anatomy’s website.

'Stitch & Time' Screening and Discussion
2026-03-26 20:00 - 21:00 (America/Toronto) | https://talkdeath.com/event/stitch-time-screening-and-discussion/
Join us for a screening of ‘Stitch & Time,’ followed by a panel discussion and Q&A on Thursday, March 26 at 8pm ET | 7pm CT | 6pm MT | 5pm PT.
The docu-short ‘Stitch & Time’ portrays how Billy Ray Worth and Clay Turner, two incarcerated men serving life sentences, forge an extraordinary friendship through an unexpected act of compassion: starting a crochet group to make warm items for fellow inmates in hospice care.
Together, they lead a community of men who defy stereotypes about life behind bars, finding purpose and connection through caregiving and creativity. As the group collaborates on a special project—a crochet wall hanging for the hospice unit—their story becomes one of redemption, transformation, and the enduring power of human connection.
After the screening, there will be a panel discussion with the co-directors and producers of Stitch & Time and team members of the Humane Prison Hospice Project.
Following, there will be an opportunity for a Q&A with guests, before attendees are invited to a special opportunity to submit prompts for grief journals for incarcerated people.
-You must RSVP
-This event will be held via Zoom
-This event will NOT be recorded
-Closed captions will be provided. Guests are welcome to attend on or off camera. If there is anything we can do to make this event more accessible, don’t hesitate to email rian@talkdeath.com
We hope you can join us for this special event.
David Munro, Producer, Co-Director, Story Editor
David Munro is a Bay Area-based writer and film director/producer. His feature documentary Stand Up Planet profiles a new generation of global comedians sparking social change through humor. Hosted by Hasan Minhaj (The Daily Show) and featuring Nate Bargatze and Michelle Buteau, the film was funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for broadcast on PBS. David’s indie comedy Full Grown Men won the Sundance Channel Audience Award and was a critic’s pick in New York Magazine, LA Weekly, and the San Francisco Chronicle. His short films have screened from Sundance to Berlin, leading Filmmaker Magazine to name him one of their “25 New Indie Faces.”
V. Scott Balcerek, Producer, Co-Director, Editor
V. Scott Balcerek is a feature film editor turned director. His latest work, the award-winning feature documentary Satan & Adam, was produced by Frank Marshall and purchased by Netflix. Scott edited More Than A Game, a feature documentary about LeBron James, which was released by Lionsgate and nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. He directed RePlay, a doc series for Gatorade that received a Gold Lion at Cannes and was nominated for a Sports Emmy. Prior to directing, Scott was the Senior Visual Effects Editor for George Lucas’ Star Wars films, Episodes I and II, as well as Ang Lee’s The Hulk and Wolfgang Petersen’s The Perfect Storm. Scott attended the American Film Institute while editing a short documentary, Street Songs, which received a Student Academy Award.
Dr. Michele DiTomas, Consulting Producer
Michele DiTomas, MD, MS has worked for the California Correctional Healthcare Services since 2007. She earned her MD from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and is board-certified in both family medicine and hospice and palliative medicine. She is currently the statewide Assistant Deputy Medical Executive over Palliative Care which strives to provide high quality care to older adults and those with serious, life-limiting illness. As Hospice Medical Director she works with the hospice team at the California Medical Facility to create an environment where patients can live their final days with dignity, respect and comfort despite their incarceration.
Laura Musselman, Director of Development & Communications, Humane Prison Hospice Project
Laura Musselman (Director of Development & Communications) is an end-of-life doula, writer, and former philosophy instructor with a background in trauma support. She brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her role at Humane Prison Hospice Project, where she oversees development, communications, and strategic initiatives that advance the organization’s mission. Her work focuses on translating the goals of prison-based palliative care into clear, compelling messaging for diverse audiences while ensuring incarcerated peer caregivers have the training and resources to provide compassionate end-of-life care—advancing a model that fosters dignity, connection, and equity within correctional health care systems.
Camila Ryder, Communications Manager, Humane Prison Hospice Project
Camila Ryder (Communications Manager) was first drawn to this work after caregiving for her family for many years. Learning firsthand about end-of-life care, she became deeply driven towards expanding awareness and support for dignified care as people age and die well. She is equally passionate about sharing the stories and experiences of incarcerated folks. A seasoned communications expert, Camila has worked in nonprofits, corporate firms, and education. Her focus is to reveal the stories that connect with and transcend generations through holistic, authentic communications.
Lauren Seeley
Lauren Seeley is a death and grief doula for pets & humans. She is a death educator and facilitator of the Silent Book Club Of Death NYC, as well as the Ahhsweetdeath Book Club that hosts monthly author talks. She is a curator for funerals, altars, memorial spaces, designer, illustrator, reiki practitioner, and creative grief artist. She hosts regular grief & death discussions with musicians , artist’s, photographers, film directors, and authors. Lauren has partnered with institutions such as Historic Green-Wood Cemetery, The Met Cloisters, Morbid Anatomy, and more. She resides in Brooklyn, NY and works with a funeral practice in Brooklyn as well.
TalkDeath
TalkDeath encourages generative conversations around death and dying. We are the hub for death-conscious education, advocacy, and community. From death care history and cultural practices, to sustainable disposition, funeral law, and grief resources, TalkDeath enables you to make informed end-of-life choices and bridges the gap between death care providers and the general public. Through our online forums and community events, we create spaces that connect individuals and encourage them to participate in community care.

Death & Taxes: An Overview for Those Still Living
2026-04-01 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Kentucky/Louisville) | Online
It’s officially tax season—and that goes for corpses, too! In this hourlong online talk, I’ll provide an (ideally funny) overview of how to pay a dead person’s state and federal taxes, as well as the estate and inheritance taxes you might encounter after a loss.

Book Club: What The Dead Know by Barbara Butcher
2026-04-01 20:00 - 21:00 (America/Toronto) | Online
What The Dead Know by Barbara Butcher Wednesday April 1st 5:00 – 6:00 PM (PT) 8-9 PM (ET)
About the book:
A “remarkably candid and sensitive” (The Wall Street Journal) true crime memoir from Barbara Butcher, a trailblazing New York City death investigator, who reveals the untold stories behind more than 5,500 death scenes, including the nation’s most horrific tragedy: the 9/11 attacks.
When Barbara Butcher was early in her recovery from alcoholism, she found an unexpected lifeline in a job at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in NYC. As only the second woman ever hired for the role—and the first to last more than three months—she became a vital force in the world of forensic science and criminal investigations.
Over the next two decades, Butcher worked thousands of cases: gruesome homicides, suspicious suicides, heartbreaking scenes involving underage victims, and complex mass casualty investigations. In her unforgettable account, she invites readers into the gritty, high-stakes world of crime-scene investigation, from the autopsy room and morgue to tense moments at active crime scenes. Along the way, she uncovered how confronting death every day gave her a new perspective on life—and ultimately saved her from becoming a statistic herself.
In vivid, darkly humorous prose, Butcher recounts how she narrowly avoided a boobytrapped suicide scene, and how, during 9/11, she and her colleagues worked tirelessly to identify victims using scraps of clothing, DNA, and the memories of grieving loved ones. Her honesty, resilience, and sharp wit make this a standout in the genre of first responder memoirs and women in law enforcement.

Grief Beyond Graves: Queer Mourning & Collective Healing
2026-05-13 13:00 - 14:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom, Cornelius, NC, 28031
Less Fear | More Fierce: Queer End-of-Life Planning
LGBTQ+ Centric Online Discussion Series
2nd Wednesdays | 1-2:30 pm ET | | January – June 2026
What would collective healing look like if we made space for every kind of queer loss—not just the ones with headstones?
Grief isn’t only about death. Queer and trans people often carry grief from non-death losses—family estrangement, identity erasure, loss of community, housing, or health.
This session explores disenfranchised grief and collective mourning, offering space to name, witness, and begin to heal these often-invisible losses.
We’ll also touch on grief in response to social and political violence, and how we can create rituals for communal mourning and resilience.
