Death and Donuts: How one Colorado woman is pairing pastries with big questions
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Image Courtesy of Peri Rigler
If you ask Peri Rigler, a sugary treat and death are a perfect pair for a conversation.
Why it matters: The Erie resident's Death and Donuts events offer a space for those curious about death to discuss what some consider taboo.
How it works: It's not about grief or what's next so much as a rumination on death itself.
The death cafes bring together a dozen or so people at virtual and in-person events, mostly in Boulder County, to learn and make connections.
- Today, her organization is hosting a free online session to learn about Colorado's Medical Aid in Dying Law.
- A week earlier, a group met at Natural Funeral Home in Lafayette to discuss environmentally friendly burial practices.
Between the lines: The donuts "lower the intensity," says Rigler, who also hosts the podcast,
"Mostly Death Stuff."
What she's saying: "There's just a lot of folks searching for meaning and to have an impact in the world. And so it's kind of natural to think about your death when you think about those things," Rigler, 47, told us in an interview.
The big picture: Death Cafes are hardly new, but death — and related topics like living better and longer — are trendy right now.
- More than 11,000 death cafe groups are listed in the U.S., according to the Death Cafe site.
Zoom in: Rigler, who works full-time in advertising, said Death and Donuts came from her own curiosity and quest for community.
- "You know that we can talk a lot about how we disagree and we're divided as people, especially in the United States right now, but death is something that we all have in common," she says.