Two pioneers in death education, Gail Rubin, CT, and EternityGardens.com, a funeral industry technology platform, have teamed up to help people talk about and plan ahead for end-of-life issues. EternityGardens.com is the first national sponsor of the Before I Die ABQ Festival, taking place in the Albuquerque/Santa Fe metro markets October 30 to November 4, 2018.
Chicago-based EternityGardens.com provides a website that connects individuals and families looking to lay to rest the cremated remains of loved ones. The site lists cemeteries and scattering services that include aerial scattering as well as burial and scattering at sea. Visitors to the site may choose from more than 40 search criteria that identify options for Veterans, for family pets, and for those who seek an eco-friendly approach.
Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist with A Good Goodbye, annually attracts thousands of baby boomers and younger people to learn about end-of-life issues. Her presentations incorporate humor and film clips to break down resistance to planning ahead. She pioneered the Death Cafe movement in the United States and held the first Before I Die festival west of the Mississippi.
"While 100% of us will die, less than 30% of all adults do any end-of-life planning: wills or trusts, advance medical directives and pre-need funeral planning," said Rubin. "Once we get the conversation started, it's much easier to take the next steps. It's especially important to do this BEFORE a loved one gets seriously ill or dies."
"So many people say, if I die, when the reality for all of us is when I die," said Darrell Hill, Founder+CEO of EternityGardens.com. "It's so important to help consumers understand their options and navigate choices while death still seems a distant possibility."
EternityGardens.com was created in response to the rapidly-growing choice of cremation as an end-of-life option for Americans. The national U.S. cremation rate exceeded 50% for the first time in 2016. The company's mission is to create the most comprehensive and complete online listing of service providers and cremation gardens throughout North America.
Rubin will introduce EternityGardens.com to her audiences at presentations in New Mexico and nationwide throughout the year, as well as at the Before I Die ABQ Festival.
The first Before I Die ABQ Festival in 2017 attracted 600 participants to 22 events over six days. The second Before I Die ABQ Festival will bring together even more educational and entertaining elements such as field trips, movies, parties, panel discussions, and Death Café conversations at multiple venues in the greater Albuquerque/Santa Fe metro areas.
All participants in the 2018 festival can enter a drawing for two full-body burial plots at La Puerta Natural Burial Ground, New Mexico's first Green Burial Council-certified cemetery, and other prizes. Find more information about the Festival online at www.BeforeIDieABQ.com.
Gail Rubin, CT, is author and host of the award-winning book and television series, A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die, Hail and Farewell: Cremation Ceremonies, Templates and Tips, and KICKING THE BUCKET LIST: 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die.
Rubin is a Certified Thanatologist (that's a death educator) and a popular speaker who uses humor and films to get the end-of-life and funeral planning conversation started. She "knocked 'em dead" with her TEDx talk, A Good Goodbye. She provides continuing education credit classes for attorneys, doctors, nurses, social workers, hospice workers, financial planners, funeral directors and other professionals. She's a Certified Funeral Celebrant and funeral planning consultant who has been interviewed in national and local print, broadcast and online media.
Known as The Doyenne of Death®, she is the event coordinator of the Before I Die ABQ Festival. She also hosts A Good Goodbye Internet radio show and produces Mortality Minute radio and online video spots. Her YouTube Channel features more than 400 videos!
Rubin is a member of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association, Toastmasters International and the National Speakers Association New Mexico Chapter. Her speaking profile is available at eSpeakers.com.
Gail Rubin has been interviewed about funeral planning issues in national and local broadcast, print and online media. Outlets include The Huffington Post, Money Magazine, Kiplinger, CBS Radio News, WGN-TV, and local affiliates for NPR, PBS, FOX, ABC-TV, CBS-TV and NBC-TV.
Sign up for a free planning form and occasional informative newsletter at her website, AGoodGoodbye.com.