Death Cafe with Naomi Westerman

Join Naomi Westerman, anthropologist and author of Happy Death Club, here at Hive Mind Books in Bushwick for a frank and open conversation about death and grief.

What does our treatment of death and dying have to tell us about how we live our lives? What makes a "good death"? What does grieving look and feel like to you?

Bring your questions, fears, and curiosities to The Death Cafe, where Westerman will draw on her research and personal experience to guide our discussion through the fearsome, yet universal, topic of the end of life.

After she speaks, Westerman will sign copies of her new book, Happy Death Club: Essays on Death, Grief & Bereavement.

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Books will be available to purchase at Hive Mind Books. We ask that books signed at our events be purchased at our bookstore. Book sales ensure that our independent queer bookstore can continue to keep the lights on and bring great events like this to our neighborhood. Thank you for your support!

If you would like a signed copy, but cannot attend the event, you can order a signed book from us. We ship most places!

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Anthropologist Naomi Westerman was studying death rituals around the world—when her whole family died. Upon losing those closest to her, Naomi Westerman saw that death was more than just an abstract academic concept; it was a deeply painful and personal experience. She became fascinated by loss and grief, and hoped to cope and demystify death by turning to history, art, and pop culture.

Happy Death Club examines the many faces of death and grief in Westerman’s own life and in cultures around the world. From expensive coffins and unconventional burials to horror films and true crime, what does our treatment of death and dying have to tell us about how we live our lives? What makes a “good death”? And who owns our bodies before and after we die?

Both meaningful and darkly humorous, Happy Death Club presents a frank, curious look at this universal human experience—one we’re often too afraid to talk about—and what lies beyond.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Naomi Westerman is a nonbinary playwright and former anthropologist. As an anthropologist, Naomi studied death rituals around the world, also working on mental health and gender. She is a recipient of the Royal Society of Literature Award, the Michael Grandage Futures Bursary, the Derby Theatre / In Good Co Mid-Career Commission Award, and was a finalist for the Theatre Uncut Political Playwriting Award at the Young Vic. Happy Death Club is her first non-fiction book.

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