News for the living.

Rituals and Remembering 

October may be known as the "spooky season" with Jack-O'-Lantern and ghost stories, but underneath that frivolity lies the reminder that everything that lives also dies.

This time of year is recognized by many cultures;  the belief that the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest now, sets the scene for our rituals and customs. From Samhain, Halloween and the Day of the Dead, we think of those who are no longer with us. In this issue of our newsletter, we look at how we choose to memorialize and remember our loved ones. 

Dinner With Dad

For many of us, our connection with others is a connection through food. For Johanna Lunn, her culinary connection with her dad was a pot of Beef Bourguignon. Although her father had died, Johanna felt the need to connect with him, so she prepared his favourite: chunks of beef simmered in rich red wine gravy. She tells us the story of her ritual in a short film called "A Dinner With Dad".  She also shares the recipe with us here.

And speaking of favourite recipes, do you have one that makes you think of someone special? It can be something they loved to make or something they loved to eat. Send it along to us and we'll share it with our audience in our "Recipes for Remembering" segment featured every month. (Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash)

Our Latest Podcast

Since 1993, The Sharing Place in Salt Lake City has had a mission to “provide a safe and caring environment for grieving children, teens, and their families to share their feelings while healing themselves.” Program director Jill MacFarlane talks to us about the value of this process and how telling the truth is the most important thing you can do when helping kids deal with their grief.  Recently two of our team members, Johanna Lunn and Chelsea Hoagland, got to visit Jill at The Sharing Place and were so impressed with the programs they offer. From a Wall of Remembrance to expressing grief through play, kids and their families are provided with a safe and caring place to heal. You can read more about it on our website. Listen Here.

How to Be Helpful When Someone Dies

When we hear that someone has died, we think of ways to help and one of those things is to drop off food at the home of the grieving family. 

The idea is to nourish the mourners to whom the last thing they are thinking of is food. But also knowing that many people are dropping by and rather than burden the family with the worry of providing refreshments to their guests, to have a quick and easy solution. Casseroles are great and easy to pop in the oven and allow mourners to just help themselves. But there are also other alternatives to bringing food.

Bookshelf

This month on the WYD Bookshelf we are spotlighting At Heaven’s Door: What Shared Journeys to the Afterlife Teach About Dying Well and Living Better by William Peters. This book is the culmination of nearly 20 years of research into end-of-life experiences and stories from his private practice as a psychotherapist and bereavement counselor. It truly is a page turner, full of personal stories of people who have had a “shared crossing,” a special experience at the end of a life. An experience of a loving connection and communication with loved ones beyond this human realm. 

NEWS & NOTEWORTHY:

Speaking of William Peters...
Earlier this year we met up with William in California to chat about The Shared Crossing Project and his amazing research. Spoiler alert – you will see him in one of our upcoming films!

This coming October William will be offering a live, in-person, three-day seminar/workshop entitled, "The Shared Crossing Pathway Seminar: Accompanying Loved Ones Through a Beautiful End of Life.” We're excited to be part of the affiliate program for this event. You can attend in person if you're in the Santa Barbara area in October, or online in November. As an affiliate, we offer a special link which will give The When You Die Project a small commission to help us pay the bills. Thank you! To sign up, click here. 
 

WYD On the Road
The When You Die Project is on the road this Fall. We were delighted to offer a sneak peak of our second film (soon to be released), along with a screening of In the Realm of Death & Dreaming in Salt Lake City, Utah, as part of the IANDS (International Association for Near-Death Studies) Conference. And in Boulder, Colorado, at the amazing Dairy Arts Center, we screened a special cut of the first and second films. We loved meeting so many wonderful people and were touched by the questions and experiences shared.

Next stop: Fredericton, New Brunswick, in Canada, for the second annual Death Expo. If you're going to be in the area, make sure to book your seat to our screening on October 19, and to visit us at our booth at the Expo on October 20th. For more information on our screening, here is the link.

More great news!   
In the Realm of Death & Dreaming will be screening at the Spirit Festival in Tel Aviv, Israel! The festival runs from November 24-26, and we are beyond thrilled to show our documentary to international audiences. 

And since we're talking about our films... we don't want to give too much away just yet, but we will be sending out a very exciting note to our subscribers at the end of the month so stay tuned! 

November 11th-13th WYD will also be at The Beautiful Dying Expo! This is a virtual event where you can have one-on-one conversations with professionals in the death and dying industry. As a featured guest of the expo we’ll be hosting podcasts, speaking on a panel, and of course screening Chapter 1: In The Realm of Death & Dreaming, with a Q&A to follow. To find out more and to register please visit the link below. We hope to see you there! https://www.beautifuldyingexpo.com/


Please Help Us Spread the Word!
If you know of any groups or organizations that would like to hold a screening of our film, please share our website and let us know too. We appreciate your interest and help in getting the word out!