Omaha Reads: Death Cafe Resources

September was a unique month for me, where I got to host three Death Cafes in partnership with the Omaha Reads program at the Omaha Public Library. During the cafes, there are usually quite a few resources shared, so I like to write them down (when I remember to!). Plus the incredible librarians who hosted me had some wonderful book suggestions as well (thank you to Katie, Lisa, and Holly for partnering with me!).

I hope some of you will consider coming to my next Death Cafe on Saturday, October 10th at the Council Bluffs Public Library!

The Book Drop

I’m also thankful to have been on the Omaha Public Library’s The Book Drop podcast where I got to talk with host Amy Mather and OPL Foundation’s Adrienne Perry. I shared a bit about the work I do, and got to geek out about some great reads. I hope you’ll give it a listen!

Millard Branch

• St. Louis Last Call Festival

  • If you’re interested in a local, small death festival, check out PDCC’s Memento Mori art show in December 2026!

• Dead Dads Club / Dead Moms Club

• 100 Places to See After You Die: A Travel Guide to the Afterlife by Ken Jennings

• What is a death doula?

• Caitlin Doughty

  • YouTube: Ask a Mortician

  • The Order of the Good Death

  • Books:

  • From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death

  • Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory

  • Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions From Tiny Mortals About Death

• Cemetery Tour - Guided Walking Tour: Fairview Cemetery, Council Bluffs - Monday Oct 19, 6:00 - 7:30P

Willa Cather Branch

• Death, et seq. podcast

• Death Over Drafts

  • Stay tuned for a local version hosted by me and Liz at Creative Care Work, early 2027

• The Conversation Project - helpful workbooks to foster conversations around healthcare at the end of life

• Death Over Dinner - website that helps you get started talking with friends or family about death over dinner

• The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning

  • Peacock Show

  • Book

• Amy Hensley - Sips and Wishes (local, Pampered Chef-type part for planning death with family or friends)

• Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande

• Dementia Advance Directive

Saddle brook

• Combating funeral poverty: The importance of planning for the future by National Bereavement Service

• Funeral Poverty by Victoria J. Haneman - Creighton University School of Law

• Which States Pay Family Caregivers Through Medicaid?

• YouTube: Last Meal episodes - Mythical Kitchen

(mentioned again)

• The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning

  • Peacock Show

  • Book

• Amy Hensley - Sips and Wishes (local, Pampered Chef-type part for planning death with family or friends)

Librarian Book Picks

I second these recommendations with a **

• So Sorry for Your Loss: How I Learned to Live With Grief, and Other Grave Concerns by Gachman, Dina

• Gratitude by Oliver Sacks

• **From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death

• Heartwood: The Art of Living With the End in Mind by Barbara Becker

• A Beginner’s Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death by Bruce Miller

• Tell Me Good Things: on Love, Death, and Marriage by James Runcie

• Dying: A Memoir by Cory Taylor

• The Half Known Life: In Search of Paradies by Pico Iyer

• Modern Death: How Modern Medicine Changed the End of Life by Hiader Warraich

• These Vital Signs: A Doctor’s Notes on Life and Loss in Tweets by Sayed Tabatabai

• My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me: A Memoir by Jason Rosenthal

• Finding the Words: Working Through Profound Loss with Hope and Purpose by Colin Campbell

• Dead People Suck: A Guide for Survivors of the Newly Departed by Laurie Kilmartin

• Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead: A Novel by Emily Austin

• Over My Dead Body by Sweeney Boo

• The Lost Art of Dying: Reviving Forgotten Wisdom by Lydia Dugdale

• What the Dead Know: Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator by Barbara Butcher

• Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief by David Kessler

• Everything Is Temporary: Illustrated Contemplations on How Death Shapes Our Lives by Iris Gottieb

• Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks

• The Good Death: An Exporation of Dying in America by Ann Neumann

• How We Live Is How We Die by Pema Chödrön

• Modern Loss - Candid Conversations About Grief: Beginners Welcome by Rebecca Soffer

• **Advice for Future Corpses And Those Who Love Them: A Practical Perspective on Death and Dying by Sallie Tisdale

• Last Rites: The Evolution of the American Funeral by Todd Harra

• Curtains: Adventures of An Undertaker-in-training by Tom Jokinen

• Now Departing: A Small-town Mortician on Death, Life, and the Moments in Between by Victor Sweeney

• Does This Mean You'll See Me Naked? Field Notes From a Funeral Director by Robert D. Webster

• Walking Each Other Home: Conversations on Loving and Dying by Ram Dass

• ** With the End in Mind: Dying, Death, and Wisdom in An Age of Denial by Kathryn Mannix

• **Green Burial Guidebook: Everything You Need to Plan An Affordable, Environmentally Friendly Burial by Elizabeth Fournier

• Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer by Barbara Ehrenreich

• Dying to Wake Up: A Doctor's Voyage Into the Afterlife and the Wisdom He Brought Back by Rajiv Parti

• Heaven Is Beautiful: How Dying Taught Me That Death Is Just the Beginning by Peter Baldwin Panagore

• Caring for the Dying: The Doula Approach to a Meaningful Death by Henry Fersko-Weiss

• **For You When I Am Gone: Twelve Essential Questions to Tell a Life Story by Steven Leder

• In My Time of Dying: How I Came Face-to-face With the Idea of An Afterlife by Sebastian Junger