Held on Dharug & Gundungurra Country \\ Blue Mountains, NSW
Blue Mountains Death Café
Open conversations about death, dying & living well — over cake and a cuppa
In a world where death is often whispered about, avoided or outsourced - a Death Café offers something quietly radical: a warm, welcoming space to talk openly about death, life and what it means to be human. Our fears. Our curiosities. Our grief. Our hopes. The questions we don’t often get to ask - and the stories we don’t often get to tell.
There is no expectation to share. There is no ‘right’ way to be. Just conversation, connection, and the comfort of being human together.
What is a Death Café?
A Death Café is a welcoming, agenda-free community gathering where people come together to talk about death and dying in a safe, respectful space - over cake and tea. There are no guest speakers, no set topics, no therapy or advice-giving. Instead, there is open dialogue. Every voice is valued. Every perspective is welcome.
A Death Café is not a grief support group or counselling session. It’s simply an invitation to explore life’s big questions, to listen deeply, to speak honestly - and to do so in good company, over delicious home-made cake. To keep the conversation spacious, thoughtful and personal, each session is limited to fifteen participants. This ensures everyone has room to speak - or simply to listen. While attendance is free, places are limited, so booking ahead is essential.
Curious? Join us…
Where it all began…
A global movement, held locally
The Death Café movement began in London in 2011, founded by Jon Underwood, inspired by the work of Swiss sociologist Bernard Crettaz. Jon imagined a non-judgemental space where people could talk openly about death - not to be fixed or taught, but simply witnessed - with tea and cake as quiet companions.
Since then, Death Cafés have been held all over the world: in homes, libraries, community halls and bookshops — including right here at RoseyRavelston Books in the Blue Mountains.
These gatherings don’t aim to push an agenda or change minds. Instead, they offer something gentler and just as powerful: connection. The simple, radical act of naming what is often left unsaid.
Death Café in the Blue Mountains
Here in the Blue Mountains, our Death Café has found a devoted and growing community. As featured in the Blue Mountains Gazette, there is a clear appetite for spaces where we can speak honestly about death, grief, legacy and care - without fear, judgement or rush.
We are witnessing a wider cultural shift toward more personalised and meaningful funerals, sustainable end-of-life choices, rituals that reflect individuality and values, and community-based approaches to grief and death literacy. Death Café sits gently within this movement - a place to begin, or continue, the conversation.
Who hosts the Blue Mountains Death Café?
Blue Mountains Death Café is currently hosted by Amy Firth — interfaith minister, funeral director, celebrant and death-care worker — alongside the Blue Mountains Death Café Holding Team, Samantha & David. Amy has spent over a decade working alongside individuals, families and communities at times of loss, transition and profound change. Her approach is grounded, inclusive and deeply human, creating spaces where difficult conversations can unfold with tenderness and care.