Strangers in Pittsburgh are coming together over cake and tea to chat about death.
Why it matters: As anxiety about longevity and end-of-life care grows, death cafes are normalizing conversations about death and creating spaces for shared learning, organizers say.
How it works: A death cafe is not a grief group or a counseling session.
- It’s typically a free, small gathering in a “safe, welcoming” space where people speak candidly about death in whatever way feels meaningful to them, says Helen Stickney, a death doula and member of Pittsburgh Community Deathcare who currently facilitates death cafes at Millvale Community Library.
- Conversations span mortality, burial, fears, cultural traditions, and the importance of advance directives, says Stickney.
Catch up quick: Launched in 2011 in East London, death cafes were built around tea and cake by design — simple comforts to make space for hard conversations.
- The idea spread fast. Today, groups meet around the world, with more than 11,000 listed in the U.S. alone.
The big picture: Those pushing to make death talk less taboo say silence makes it easy to skip emotional, financial, and practical preparation…