Kitchen Table Conversations: end of life matters
The Kitchen Table Conversations about death and dying started (fittingly) around the kitchen table at Eudlo Hall in April 2024. Two friends, Stephanie Tonkin (former coroner) and Mira Chorik (artist) were sharing their journeys with their father's deaths and wondered if others may benefit too from this kind of honest, open conversation about a taboo topic little heard in society; both through addressing the legal paperwork of death as a key personal responsibility, and exploring the role the creative arts play in death literacy. We were both familiar with the concept of the Death Cafe and wanted to create something similar local.
The conversations around the kitchen table have evolved into shared meals, new friendships, arts projects in development with members coming from the ultra local, the coast and up to 200km away to attend. Stephanie hosts regular sessions on the paperwork of death (wills, enduring power of attorney, and advanced health directives); there's conversations on voluntary assisted dying in Queensland; movie nights on topics like palliative care, grief, and community-led funeral homes; local death doulas share invaluable information around legalities, low cost funeral and casket options, eco burials and other empowering information such as how long you can keep deceased loved ones at home after death; conversation games prompt discussions and reflections on death, dying, loss and remembrance; and much more.