Chatham Community Library, in partnership with heart2heart North Carolina, presents Death and Cupcakes on Saturday, December 6, from, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm in the Holmes Family Meeting Room. Following a brief intermission, local author Tami Schwerin will read from her new book, Welcome to Death Faire: Love, Loss and Healing in a Small Southern Town. This event is free and open to the public.

While there is no roadmap for grief, finding different ways to cope can be part of the healing process. Death & Cupcakes provides a safe space to ask questions, share your story, be witnessed, sit quietly in present time, and listen to the insights of others on death, dying, loss, grief, and renewal. Facilitated by heart2heartnc director Cathy Brooksie Edwards with live music by musician Amy Durso, raises awareness about topics surrounding death that often remain taboo. In addition to encouraging open and honest dialogue, there will be short periods of mindfulness meditation, and of course, cupcakes. 

Born from heartbreak and a community transformed by grief, Welcome to Death Faire is a collection of powerful stories, essays, poems, and rituals—all woven together with hauntingly beautiful images. It speaks to the courage of celebrating life, embracing death, and all that lies between. Curated by Tami Schwerin, this 160-page book is rooted in the spirit of the decade-long evolution of Death Faire—an annual event in Pittsboro, that was born from the devastating loss of Schwerin’s son, Zafer. Each year, the community comes together in a vibrant convergence of music, art, poetry, culture, shared wisdom, and conversation, creating a space that honors death as part of life while inviting us to live fully, feel deeply, and approach both joy and sorrow with an open heart.

This event is made possible by the generous support of the Friends of the Chatham Community Library. No registration is required.

Residents may visit the libraries’ website www.chathamlibraries.org, or contact the Library at (919) 545-8084 for information on this and other events and programs.

Members of the media interested in attending/covering this event are asked to please notify Public Information Officer Kara Lusk in advance at 919-542-8258 or kara.lusk@chathamcountync.gov.