Fall newsletter
Welcome to the community of the bereaved, the searching, and those seeking peace around death and the losses of beloved friends, animals, and family members. Please send items of interest for sharing in our next newsletter to nekdeathcarecommunity@gmail.com.
Upcoming Events
August 29th - September 1st - "Act 39" at Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro
August 29, 30 and 31 at 7 p.m. September 1 at 2 p.m.
What do you do when your best friend, dying of cancer, asks you to help end his life? Act 39, a play written by Rob Mermin, is the true story of what happened when Rob’s friend decided to use Vermont's medical aid in dying law, known as Act 39. It is a soulful, humor-filled story of friendship, and exposes the vulnerability of the human spirit when facing mortality head-on.
September 3rd - Death Cafe at Parker Pie, West Glover, 6 p.m. Contact Kelsey Crelin
September 4th - NEW! Death Cafe at Atheneum in St. J, 6:30 p.m. Contact Abby Pollender
September 11th - Death Cafe at Albany Public Library, 6 p.m. Contact Kelsey Crelin
September 12th - Death Cafe at Greensboro Free Library, 11 a.m. Contact Sharon Putney
September 18th - Panel presentation at St. Johnsbury Atheneum, 7 - 9 p.m.
Contact Abby Pollender. A panel presentation with lots of time for questions from the audience. The topics will include: Medical Aid in Dying in VT, Palliative Care, and what paperwork (like advance directives and wills) people should have in place.
October 3rd - Death Cafe at Parker Pie, West Glover, 6 p.m. Contact Kelsey Crelin
Medical Aid in Dying
Have you ever contemplated end-of-life scenarios in which you would want to have access to Medical Aid in Dying? It is legal in Vermont, yet it is a winding road to using this death with dignity option and many Vermonters are not familiar with how to access it.
It has been eleven years since legislation was enacted to allow Vermonters access to Medical Aid in Dying (MAID). Vermont's Patient Choice at End of Life Law (Act 39), enacted in May 2013, enables people who are terminally ill and who are capable of making their own medical decisions the option to request and receive medication that they can use to bring about a peaceful death if and when they so choose.
An excellent conversation starter around Act 39 is this play written by Rob Mermin. It will be performed at three places around Vermont in August and September. To learn more about this moving work, visit www.patientchoices.org
You can purchase tickets here.
Act 39 The Play is co-sponsored by Patient Choices Vermont (PCV), a nonprofit dedicated to education about Medical Aid in Dying and end-of-life choice in Vermont. Patient Choices Vermont's website is the go-to resource for information about the process.
Perhaps you would like to talk more about Medical Aid in Dying. Lindsey Warren, core team member of Northeast Kingdom Death Care Community, plans to host Conversations about Act 39/MAID this fall. If you are interested, please email her at lindseywarrendoula@gmail.com to receive details about upcoming discussions.
Earth to Earth
Northeast Kingdom Death Care Community's Nadine Richardson and Albany Library's Krista Mayer invited Michelle Hogle Acciavatti to present "Earth to Earth: The Lost Art of Dying in America" on Sunday July 28th. This 20 minute documentary showcases the beauty and significance of natural burial and explores the legalization of natural burial in Vermont. Following the Albany premiere there was a Q&A session with Michelle, Founder and Head Cemeterian of Vermont Forest Cemetery. To learn more about VT Forest Cemetery, visit https://www.cemetery.eco/.
Recommendations to READ, LISTEN, & WATCH
BOOK
A Beginner’s Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Facing Death and Living Life, by BJ Miller and Shoshana Berger ( https://www.abgtte.com/ ).
PODCAST
The History of Hospice in Barbara Karnes' Peaceful Exit Podcast Series. In this episode, Sarah Cavanaugh and Barbara Karnes talk about how Barbara became a hospice nurse, how she came to write Gone From My Sight: The Dying Experience, and what hospice looked like in the early days. Barbara also explains-
*what hospice actually does and how it helps patients and families
*what the dying process is
*what to expect during the dying process - what it looks like and sounds like, and what you need to know if you’re caring for a loved one who is dying
A Caregiver Notebook is available to download for free from Springwell,
a Massachusetts Area Agency on Aging. The Notebook is a useful tool in beginning conversations with loved ones about hard-to-discuss issues, such as end-of-life planning. You might even find it helpful in thinking about your own future planning!
Time is a blanket.
Time itself doesn't heal wounds.That takes a higher order of thought. But almost without effort, time gentles the present and helps us move on.
-by John Yemma, Editor, The Christian Science Monitor Weekly, March 11, 2013
(shared by Mariel Hess)
Time is a blanket.
Time itself doesn't heal wounds.That takes a higher order of thought. But almost without effort, time gentles the present and helps us move on.
-by John Yemma, Editor, The Christian Science Monitor Weekly, March 11, 2013
(shared by Mariel Hess)
Revisit our NEK Death Care Community website and the amazing Resources section still growing there thanks to Lindsey Warren! You can send Lindsey an email directly to let her know what you love about our Resources section, or what you'd like to see added. The Resources are organized into nine categories:
Planning
Care Organizations
Support for the Journey
Read, Watch, Listen
After Death Care
Grief, Loss, and Mourning
Alzheimers and Dementia
Suicide
Animals
We also have Northeast Kingdom Death Care Community bookmarks to distribute. The bookmarks are printed with our website and email information. If you would like some for your library, business or practice, let us know!
We are grateful for recent financial support from new members for our outreach fund which makes our newsletter, website and bookmarks possible. If you can contribute to these efforts, please use the Donate button on our website.
Thank you, and we hope to see you soon!
Your NEK DCC Founders:
Mariel, Jennifer, Leslie, Lindsey, & Nadine
