Strangers in San Antonio are gathering over cake and tea to chat — about dying.
Why it matters: As anxiety about longevity and end-of-life care grows, they’re part of a movement to make death talk less taboo.
Catch up quick: The format launched in 2011 in East London, according to the Death Cafe site — which explains the choice in snacks.
- Now, groups are all over the world. More than 11,000 are listed in the U.S.
How it works: A Death Cafe is “a tangible, factual, honest conversation around death,” Aly Leija, 33, tells Axios. Leija, a death doula who sits with patients at the end of their lives, attends events virtually and in person in San Antonio, including at Abode, a hospice home near the airport.
- After participants introduce themselves and share what brought them to the group, Leija says discussion topics range from mortality to cremation and burial options.
What Death Cafe is not: “a grief group, a counseling session, or a place to push religious or other spiritual agendas,” she says…