Death Cafe

Death Cafe profile for Caro Barnett & Gwen Venters

Location: United Kingdom

About Caro Barnett & Gwen Venters:

Gwen: I run my own Care at Home agency providing care across the UK.

I am a volunteer leader of the Wincanton Carers Support group.

I am a member of the the Patient Participation Group at the Wincanton Health Centre and WINCANTON CARES steering group .

I am a trained Palliative Care Practitioner supporting people at the bedside at the end of life (Soul Midwife)

Caro: I spent much of my life as a facilitator in the voluntary, education and business sectors working in empowerment and communication.

During the last decade I have been a humanist funeral celebrant and have encouraged families to look more widely at how they achnowledge and celebrate the lives of those who have died.

There are so many approaches to death and dying and talking. D vbiscussing and sharing can open hearts and minds. This can help us to grieve and accept the inevitable reality of life.

What brings you to Death Cafe?

We can learn so much from each others experiences!

This is an informal place to drink tea and eat cake while sharing our hopes and fears of one of lifes most important events.

There is no agenda just what interests you - there is no right way to behave only by sharing and questioning can we arrive at our own answers.

Death is going to happen to us all so looking at our fears, hopes and dreams (sometimes with humour!) can help us bring new insights to our thinking and feeling.

What would you like your legacy to be?

That through sharing, talking and understanding we take the fear and dread out of the subject of death and dying.

Thoughts for sharing:

Healthy children will not fear life if their elders have integrity enough not to fear death ( Erik Erikson)

When youre dead, you're dead. That's it. (Marlene Dietrich)

If we lose love and respect for each other, this is how we finally die.

(Maya Angelou)

And finally:

Talking about death wont kill you!

Contact Caro Barnett & Gwen Venters