MCC Speaker Series to provide strategies for discussing death and loss

McHenry County College announces the next event in its popular educational speaker series, "Experts and Insights."

The series aims to connect MCC employees, students, and McHenry County residents to interesting topics and relevant content that directly impacts the community.

"Let's Talk about Death," will be presented virtually at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 15.

The Zoom session will be led by James Gould, emeritus faculty of the philosophy department, and Christine Grela, instructor of psychology.

Gould taught a course titled "Living with Death" for 33 years and has hosted many workshops on death, grief, and advance care planning for community groups. He serves on the ethics committee for Northwestern Medicine. Grela has taught "Human LifeSpan," a class that includes a focus on dying and end-of-life issues, for the past 13 years. She has also taken classes with a specialized focus on death at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The presentation emphasizes the importance, but lack of comfort, around discussions of death.

"It's a topic we don't want to talk about - but we should," Gould said. "Death is the great reality of life. We all face our own dying, and we all experience the grief of loved ones who die."

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the importance of talking about death, added Grela.

"Death is all around us, in enormous numbers. We're aware of our own vulnerability, and it adds fear and stress to our lives. This discussion will focus on why we should talk about death, why we don't, what we should talk about (such as end-of-life planning), and how to talk about death with children and aging parents. Confronting the fact of death enriches the meaning of our lives and sharpens the choices we make. Talking about death is ultimately talking about life."

The series is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Registrants will receive a link to the webinar the day before the event. Sessions may be viewed via Zoom on a computer, iPad, or smartphone device.

Upcoming topics include "Big Hair, Don't Care: The Business of Fashion and Decadence in the Palace of Versailles," on Thursday, May 6; and "Stumbling upon the Goddess: Why Greek Mythology Can Save Your Life," on Thursday, June 3. All events take place at 6 p.m.

Register and learn more at www.mchenry.edu/experts.