Death and dying has been an interest for me since I was 18. My brother died and I went to work in a hospital and saw hospital deaths up close and personal. I did not like what I saw and have been learning about it since.
My hope for this group is that we would meet six to eight times and get into the subject on a little deeper level. Anyone could come to any session, but there would be a thread of cohesion through the meetings. The first meeting will be this Saturday, March 7, at 10 a.m. We’ll meet at Beans & Bagels (2601 West Leland Ave.).
I envision watching movies; “How to Die in Oregon” about aid in dying and “You Don’t Know Jack” about Dr. Jack Kevorkian are two that have been bandied about. I also hope we would host or go to a Death Café. Plus there is a group called Life Matters Media that would love to come and talk.
I also hope that we could all come away with a real understanding and completion of advance directives such as the Power of Attorney for Health Care Illinois short form (pdf), and being sure that our Health Care Agents are aware of and interested in performing the job. It isn’t enough to simply fill out the form. I just finished a class in how to facilitate Advance Care Planning and hope to share that at one of the meetings.
What do you want to do? Bring your ideas and lets get started!
Forward Chicago 
