Member-only story
You’re Going to Die
A version of the story first appeared on Healthline
What do you wear to a death event? I asked myself, as I was getting ready to attend the 50 person always sold-out San Francisco experience “You’re Going to Die” aka YG2D.
When I first heard about the event, I felt a kindred attraction and a sudden repulsion. Evidently, my curiosity won and as soon as the email announcing the next event hit my inbox I bought a ticket.
I dressed in black, sat in the front row the only seat left, my chest racing my hands freezing, my eyes searching.
A big man, with a goodness only a mother can express, came on stage. He cried, laughed, inspired, and grounded us within minutes. A wholehearted person, I thought.
A woman shared about her desire to commit suicide, and visiting the Golden Gate Bridge frequently. Another shared about the process of losing his ill father through facebook posts he had collected. Someone shared a song about her sister, whom she hadn’t heard from in years. By the end of the night, the fear around dying and death left the room and my chest.
Was it that simple? Is talking about death more openly our ticket to freeing us from what we arguably fear most?
Interview with Ned Buskirk, Founder of YG2D.
