Gail Rubin is dedicated to helping people understand one universal truth: We’re all going to die. The self-named Doyenne of Death is a longtime death educator and launched the Albuquerque version of the Before I Die Festival in 2018
This year’s festival takes place Monday October 13 and will include a resource fair dubbed Death is Not a Dirty Word with over 100 vendors sharing information on things like green burials, hospice, estate planning, grief care and caregiver resources.
There will also be panels, including one on plant medicine and psychedelic therapy for grief and death anxiety.
“There’s a lot going on in New Mexico in that regard,” Rubin said. “UNM actually has a program that they're looking to do research on psilocybin and other psychedelic medicines. I personally have benefited from psychedelic assisted therapy. And I actually invited the guy who I worked with in Santa Fe, Doug Lynam, to be on the panel.
Rubin recently did a TEDx talk on medical aid in dying so she will do a recap of that after a panel on end-of-life options and choices. There will also be a death café.
“It's not a grief support group, but we don't have many opportunities to talk about our thoughts about death in an open, honest manner, and that's what these death cafes give you the opportunity to do,” she said.
Throughout the day attendees can use a Wind Phone to talk across the wind to their beloved deceased – whether two-legged, four-legged or winged. It’s a concept created in Japan following the deadly tsunami in 2011.
And the day ends with a dance party with the ABQ Skeleton Crew band. Rubin is all about having fun while embracing the serious matter of the end of life.
“Despite great advances in medical care, we all still have a 100% mortality rate, and it's better to be prepared than not, and unfortunately, 30% of people are the ones who are planning ahead,” she said. “So that's leaving 70% of our loved ones unprepared, not knowing what to do. And planning ahead, I can tell you from experience, really does help when -- not if -- but when a death occurs.
As Rubin likes to say, talking about sex won’t make you pregnant and talking about the end of life won’t make you dead.
The Before I Die Festival takes place Monday/Today at the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Albuquerque. Sessions will also be streamed online. Find out more here.
