This fall I’m launching a series of monthly Befriending Mortality classes, along with a committed six-session cohort. Same content, two different formats – attend the monthly classes of your choice OR participate with a small, supportive cohort in a biweekly series of sessions, culminating in the creation of an individualized written death plan.
Befriending Mortality Monthly Topic Classes
Monthly sessions on Zoom the first Tuesday of each month at 5pm pacific. Sessions are 75 minutes long and include information, reflection, and group participation centered on a rotating topic. Pre-registration for each monthly class is required.
Click on topic to register for each Monthly Class:
- Befriending Mortality – October 3, 2023
- Final Disposition – November 7, 2023
- Remembering Together – December 5, 2023
- The Dying Time – January 9 (2nd Tuesday), 2024
- From Death to Disposition – February 6, 2024
- Making a Death Plan – March 5, 2024
Scroll down for more on content and pricing.
Befriending Mortality Cohort Fall 2023
Six sessions held on Zoom every other Wednesday at 5pm pacific. Sessions are 90 minutes long and include information, reflection, and sharing within a small, supportive cohort. Self-paced worksheets enable you to continue reflection between sessions and end the series with a written plan, if desired. Enrollment capped at 12.
Inaugural Cohort Dates:
- Befriending Mortality – October 4, 2023
- Final Disposition – October 18, 2023
- Remembering Together – November 1, 2023
- The Dying Time – November 15, 2023
- From Death to Disposition – November 29, 2023
- Making a Death Plan – December 13, 2023
Scroll down for more on content and pricing.
“Holly has a lovely, relaxed manner that is so easy to listen to, such a generous way of holding various options open, honoring different perspectives. She inspires trust through the energy her presence generates, her honesty and humor, and the breadth of her knowledge.”
Session Descriptions
The following content is presented in short form through Monthly Topic Classes, and in greater depth in small, committed cohort sessions. Cohort sessions include worksheets and support for an individualized written plan. Any of the following topics can also be explored through personalized consultation or education sessions for individuals, couples, or community groups.
Befriending Mortality – Death as our teacher, that we might know better how to care for the dying in our midst, to live in the presence of our mortality, and to die when it’s our turn. Grief as a skill, the skill of heartbrokenness, essential to the times we’re in. Considering these perspectives, you’ll be in good company as you reflect on your relationship to mortality.
Final Disposition – What will happen to your body when you die? We’ll review pros and cons, costs and where to find final disposition options from conventional burial and flame cremation, to long-established and emerging eco-friendly options including green burial, alkaline hydrolysis (sometimes called water or flameless cremation), and natural organic reduction (also known as human composting).
Remembering Together – How do we honor, and strengthen, the continuity of relationships across the veil of life and death? Along with remembering, together, those we are missing, we’ll share inspiring examples of creative ceremonies of bereavement and remembrance, including meaningful funerals, living memorials, and “re-dos” of ceremonies that went wrong or never happened.
The Dying Time – How do we support the dying in our midst? What supports might we want for our dying time? We’ll look at the landscape from diagnosis to death: palliative care and hospice, medical aid in dying (MAID) and voluntary stopping eating and drinking (VSED), assembling a care team and the role of an end-of-life doula, and the deaths that don’t go “according to plan.”
From Death to Disposition – Historically, care for the dead was handled by family and community – and legally, it is still our right to do so. But for many, our ancestral ways of caring for each other after death have been forgotten. We’ll review the aspects of deathcare now outsourced to professionals – bathing, dressing, and transporting the body; sourcing a casket, shroud or urn; handling the paperwork – and consider the benefits of more hands-on engagement.
Making a Death Plan – Birth plans have been promoted as a way for expectant parents and their care team to clarify and communicate their values, needs, and preferences for both optimal and unforeseen scenarios. A written death plan can do the same. We’ll review all the elements you may want to consider: physical/ medical, legal/ logistical, emotional/ spiritual, and social/ cultural along the time spectrum of before illness, during the dying time, and after death.
Pricing
Fees for my services are based on a sliding scale – you pick the price point that fits your needs and your budget. For individual and cohort sessions, on-line payment link will be sent once registration is confirmed. For monthly classes, payment is collected at time of registration via Eventbrite.
- Personal consultation or education session: $85 – $150/ hour (individual/ family rate)
- Monthly Topic Class: $20 – $45/ class
- Committed Cohort: $30 – $65/ session; commitment to all 6 sessions is required (total $180 – $390)
For More Info
All sessions are designed and led by Holly Pruett, drawing from work with hundreds of clients, eight years of death cafés, and scores of presentations for groups such as Rose Villa, Hopewell House, Friendly House Planning with Pride, Holladay Park Plaza, Association of Professional Chaplains–Oregon.
Read more about my qualifications. Contact me if you have questions or to join the waiting list for the Fall 2023 Cohort once registration is full.
Befriending Mortality Classes & Cohorts
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Last Updated: January 24, 2024 by hollyjpruett
This fall I’m launching a series of monthly Befriending Mortality classes, along with a committed six-session cohort. Same content, two different formats – attend the monthly classes of your choice OR participate with a small, supportive cohort in a biweekly series of sessions, culminating in the creation of an individualized written death plan.
Befriending Mortality Monthly Topic Classes
Monthly sessions on Zoom the first Tuesday of each month at 5pm pacific. Sessions are 75 minutes long and include information, reflection, and group participation centered on a rotating topic. Pre-registration for each monthly class is required.
Click on topic to register for each Monthly Class:
Scroll down for more on content and pricing.
Befriending Mortality Cohort Fall 2023
Six sessions held on Zoom every other Wednesday at 5pm pacific. Sessions are 90 minutes long and include information, reflection, and sharing within a small, supportive cohort. Self-paced worksheets enable you to continue reflection between sessions and end the series with a written plan, if desired. Enrollment capped at 12.
Inaugural Cohort Dates:
Scroll down for more on content and pricing.
Session Descriptions
The following content is presented in short form through Monthly Topic Classes, and in greater depth in small, committed cohort sessions. Cohort sessions include worksheets and support for an individualized written plan. Any of the following topics can also be explored through personalized consultation or education sessions for individuals, couples, or community groups.
Befriending Mortality – Death as our teacher, that we might know better how to care for the dying in our midst, to live in the presence of our mortality, and to die when it’s our turn. Grief as a skill, the skill of heartbrokenness, essential to the times we’re in. Considering these perspectives, you’ll be in good company as you reflect on your relationship to mortality.
Final Disposition – What will happen to your body when you die? We’ll review pros and cons, costs and where to find final disposition options from conventional burial and flame cremation, to long-established and emerging eco-friendly options including green burial, alkaline hydrolysis (sometimes called water or flameless cremation), and natural organic reduction (also known as human composting).
Remembering Together – How do we honor, and strengthen, the continuity of relationships across the veil of life and death? Along with remembering, together, those we are missing, we’ll share inspiring examples of creative ceremonies of bereavement and remembrance, including meaningful funerals, living memorials, and “re-dos” of ceremonies that went wrong or never happened.
The Dying Time – How do we support the dying in our midst? What supports might we want for our dying time? We’ll look at the landscape from diagnosis to death: palliative care and hospice, medical aid in dying (MAID) and voluntary stopping eating and drinking (VSED), assembling a care team and the role of an end-of-life doula, and the deaths that don’t go “according to plan.”
From Death to Disposition – Historically, care for the dead was handled by family and community – and legally, it is still our right to do so. But for many, our ancestral ways of caring for each other after death have been forgotten. We’ll review the aspects of deathcare now outsourced to professionals – bathing, dressing, and transporting the body; sourcing a casket, shroud or urn; handling the paperwork – and consider the benefits of more hands-on engagement.
Making a Death Plan – Birth plans have been promoted as a way for expectant parents and their care team to clarify and communicate their values, needs, and preferences for both optimal and unforeseen scenarios. A written death plan can do the same. We’ll review all the elements you may want to consider: physical/ medical, legal/ logistical, emotional/ spiritual, and social/ cultural along the time spectrum of before illness, during the dying time, and after death.
Pricing
Fees for my services are based on a sliding scale – you pick the price point that fits your needs and your budget. For individual and cohort sessions, on-line payment link will be sent once registration is confirmed. For monthly classes, payment is collected at time of registration via Eventbrite.
For More Info
All sessions are designed and led by Holly Pruett, drawing from work with hundreds of clients, eight years of death cafés, and scores of presentations for groups such as Rose Villa, Hopewell House, Friendly House Planning with Pride, Holladay Park Plaza, Association of Professional Chaplains–Oregon.
Read more about my qualifications. Contact me if you have questions or to join the waiting list for the Fall 2023 Cohort once registration is full.
Category: Past Death Talk Events
The Death Talk Project
From 2016–2019 the Death Talk Project organized workshops, rituals, Death Cafés, a monthly movie night, and other events. This legacy site documents our approach to useful, honest conversation about how we die, how we mourn, and how we care for and remember our dead.
Non-Commercial Deathcare Info
Check out Oregon Funeral Resources & Education and The Funeral Partnership for other states.
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