Meet Morbid Anatomy, an online journal and community created by Joanna Ebenstein that aims to explore, befriend, and normalize death. Complete with a library in Brooklyn and live events, including an upcoming one in Los Angeles, Morbid Anatomy examines death through multiple perspectives, from medical to artistic. Her new book, Memento Mori: The Art of Contemplating Death to Live a Better Life, presents a step-by-step guide to embracing one’s mortality. To put it bluntly, death is Ebenstein’s life’s work. The author joins Alta Live and senior editor Matt Haber to discuss her fascination with the end of life, talk about her exciting new book, and invite us all to a party. Don’t miss this chance to talk death with the woman who wants us to embrace its inevitability.

About the guest:

Joanna Ebenstein is a Mexico-based author, photographer, curator, and designer. Her books include Memento Mori: The Art of Contemplating Death to Live a Better Life, Anatomica, Death: A Graveside Companion, and The Anatomical Venus. She is the founder and creative director of Morbid Anatomy, an organization that has been exploring the interstices of art and medicine, death and culture, since 2007. She traces her lineage back to Judah Loew ben Bezalel, credited with creating the golem in 16th-century Prague. She is also a proud member of the Order of the Good Death.

Here are some notable quotes from today’s event:

  • On life and death: “I think the fact that so many people are interested in this is because it has to happen: It’s a huge part of the human experience. If you look at it as a yin-yang, it’s all life and a bit of death, but that’s not what life is. It’s just not. It doesn’t reflect the true lived experience. We all lose people, and there’s really so little to help us because of the way we’ve dealt with death.”
  • On community: “Part of the beauty of the Morbid Anatomy community is I actually don’t feel like a freak anymore because there are so many of us.… There’s a sense of a shared interest that unifies us and a place where we can talk about what we’re really interested in without having to worry that people just think we’re very strange.”
  • On RUGS: “What keeps people from dying a good death is four different concerns that fall into four different categories: regret, unfinished business, guilt, and shame.… Think about what those are. What is holding you back? What is it that you’re afraid of giving up? Is there something you can do to remedy that?”
  • On the mystery of death: “I think there’s something beautiful in the fact that we really don’t know what happens when we die, in the fact that we are sitting here on Zoom, in a hugely technological world where we have so many things figured out, and we still don’t know what happens when we die. I think it is kind of a beautiful thing.”

Check out these links to some of the topics brought up this week.