Members of the Life Forest team had the pleasure of joining other women in deathcare featured in the recently published Women in Deathcare: A #DeathPositive Planner and Journal at the Bookery, an independent bookstore in Manchester, New Hampshire on Sunday as part of a “Women in Deathcare” panel.
Open to the public, the Bookery graciously hosted some of the featured women from the planner in person and via web conference. Each woman, including Life Forest’s co-founder, Mel Bennett, and team members Caitlyn Hauke and Traci Denver, introduced themselves, spoke on their involvement in the deathcare field, and read their month’s quotation from the book. Planner contributors Ruth Faas, Dina Stander, Wendy Van de Poll, and Michelle Melaragno were also in attendance.
Following introductions, audience members were welcomed to ask questions and discuss deathcare topics of interest. Seats were full and the discussion was lively, as panelists answered inquires on “How do I enter the deathcare field?” and “How can I pre-plan for my deathcare?”. Discussion also covered the legalities surrounding embalming, organ donation, and deed-
protected burial plots.
The hour-long panel flew by, with both panelists and attendees agreeing that more opportunities to discuss death and dying and deathcare options should exist. (Perhaps a Death Café could be in Life Forest’s future?) One take away from this weekend’s panel was that people are hungry for a place to grieve, plan, and chat openly about death. The team at Life Forest and every woman business-owner and leader featured in the Women in Deathcare planner are happy to support and welcome the conversation.
