What if death was not something to fear-but one of life’s greatest teachers? In modern culture, death is often hidden from view, outsourced to professionals, and experienced in isolation. Yet for most of human history, dying, grieving, and caring for one another at the end of life were woven into the fabric of community life. In Dying Together, death educator and community practitioner Lee Warren explores how reconnecting with death can help us reclaim something many of us are longing for: deeper belonging, stronger relationships, and more meaningful ways of caring for one another. Drawing on more than three decades of experience in intentional communities-including her years at Earthaven Ecovillage in the Southern Appalachians-Warren shares a compassionate and practical vision for bringing death back into the center of community life. At the heart of the book is a remarkable period known within Earthaven as ‘The Death Years,’ when six community members died over the course of two years. What emerged was a living curriculum in communal death care-one that revealed how mortality can become a powerful teacher, helping people cultivate connection, resilience, and collective wisdom. Combining personal stories, practical guidance, ritual, reflection, and community-based approaches to caregiving, Dying Together offers a path toward a more conscious and life-affirming relationship with death.
