The Final Chapters: Two writers on ageing and care

Speakers: JT Welsch and Caleb Klaces

As our society ages, questions of how we care for our loved ones - and how we respect their autonomy - are more urgent than ever.

Join authors Caleb Klaces and JT Welsch for a vital, compassionate conversation about navigating the ‘final chapters’ and the ethics of care in later life.

In his poignant novel Mr Outside, Caleb explores the fragile line between reality and delusion as a son helps his father, a former radical priest and poet, move into a care home. It’s a tender meditation on the act of letting go, finding bewildering beauty and unexpected humour even as the fog of dementia settles in.

JT joins the discussion with his nonfiction book, The Poetry of Suicide: Lessons in Grief from the Lives and Deaths of Poets, which interweaves literary history with his own family’s experiences. It includes a chapter on voluntary death in later life, asking how we can maintain dignity and agency in end-of-life care.

Our event will include readings from both authors’ books, followed by an open discussion on the challenges of caregiving and the care required to write about these topics.

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Host or Publisher York Festival of Ideas