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Welcome to Death Faire:
Love, Loss, and Healing in a Small Southern Town
Born from heartbreak and a community transformed by grief, Welcome to Death Faire is a collection of powerful stories, essays, poems, and rituals—all woven together with hauntingly beautiful images. It speaks to the courage of celebrating life, embracing death, and all that lies between.
Curated by Tami Schwerin, this 160-page book is rooted in the spirit of the decade-long evolution of Death Faire—an annual event in the small town of Pittsboro, North Carolina, that was born from the devastating loss of Schwerin’s son, Zafer. Each year, the community comes together in a vibrant convergence of music, art, poetry, culture, shared wisdom, and conversation, creating a space that honors death as part of life while inviting us to live fully, feel deeply, and approach both joy and sorrow with an open heart.
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Welcome to Death Faire brings the meaning and essence of this beloved event—and our shared human experience—to the page in words and images. In this book, more than 30 contributors—writers, artists, healers, and visionaries—share heartfelt reflections, raw honesty, and unexpected beauty, revealing how grief can transform into grace and how community can turn loss into love.
This collaborative, community-inspired collection includes contributions from: Pepe Caudillo, Allison DeJong, Leif Diamant, Ralph Earle, Cathy Brooksie Edwards, Lyle Estill, Arlo Estill, Godi Godar, Jaki Shelton Green, Janis Harrington, Jennifer Hansen, Maura High, Rick Hilles, Karen Howard, Vanessa Jackson, Pat Jobe, Paul Jones, Debra Kaufman, Janet Kenworthy, Jessalyn Kiesa, Kim Jordan, Cherie Lyon, Carey McKelvey, Keith Megginson, Adrian Moreno, Florence Nash, Angi Parrish, Gary Phillips, Frank Phoenix, Tami Schwerin, Clancy “Grandpa Biscotti” Thompson, Tim Toben, Liza Wolff-Francis, and Matt Zemon.
All of these voices—young and old, spiritual and skeptical—remind us that healing begins not in isolation, but in the shared acts of remembering, honoring, and loving those we’ve lost. Together, let's walk the path of grief, love, and healing.
Proceeds from sales go to supporting Death Faire and other grief projects in Chatham County, NC.