Being with Dying: Sacred Thresholds

This is a Free In-Person Event at Banyen Books in Vancouver.

Join Marlena Blavin and Aaron Friend Lettner for a heartfelt morning exploring death, dying, grief, and compassionate presence through the lens of their forthcoming book Liber Sacrum (Dædu Books and the Sunshine Coast Hospice Society).

Drawing from decades of hospice and healing work, Marlena shares moving stories and insights from accompanying people and their loved ones through life’s final transitions.

A recipient of the Sunshine Coast Hospice Heart of Hospice Award, Marlena has devoted more than fifty years to healing work and over a decade to hospice service, including bedside vigils, grief support, volunteer training, meditation teaching, and the development of creative bereavement programs.

Aaron is an award-winning artist who makes unusual books. His approach to book design as a sacred gesture is part of what brought the two together. Warm, wise, and deeply human, they invite us into a conversation about how presence, tenderness, and even joy can coexist alongside loss and mortality.

Marlena Blavin is a bodyworker, educator, storyteller, and longtime hospice volunteer based in Roberts Creek, BC. Over a 35-year healing career, she developed The Threefold Method, integrating Craniosacral Biodynamics, Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement, and mindful eating practices. She is a Registered Craniosacral Therapist® and Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, known for her compassionate presence, intuitive healing work, and acclaimed storytelling workshops and presentations across Canada and the United States.

Aaron Friend Lettner is an interdisciplinary artist whose work enfolds photography, book design, immersive exhibitions, live performance, community-engaged programs and instruction. His work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions across Canada, Japan and Germany. Aaron founded the collaborative publishing project Dædu in 2018, whose books are in several special collections, including the Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum in Leipzig, DE. He holds a BFA in Photography from Toronto Metropolitan University and is based in Roberts Creek, BC.

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