WOODS HOLE PUBLIC LIBRARY

On Monday, September 28, at 3 pm, we will screen Tender. This documentary film is set against the stunning backdrop of the industrial seaside town of Port Kembla, where a feisty and resilient community group has determined to take back the responsibility that most of us leave to someone else – to care for their own dead. Scattered throughout are stories that cut to the core, revealing why this small band has decided to take on a practice that for most is taboo. As their plans for community-based funerals gather momentum, one of their own is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Tender is at once a heartbreakingly beautiful and beautifully funny glimpse of an extraordinary community taking on one of the most essential challenges of human life…its end. Athena Aicher will share stories and photos from her recent sailing trip to the southwest coast of Greenland and back. She and her shipmates (including fellow Woods Hole resident Olwen Huxley) left Vineyard Haven on June 28, 2026, aboard the 44-foot schooner CALABASH. They returned to Woods Hole on September 14, 2026. A rugged odyssey and an immersion into the natural world, the trip was full of wonder and awe. Athena was awarded a grant from the SEA Armin E. Elsaesser Fellowship to make this season-long sailing voyage. This talk is free of charge and no registration is required. Join us on Tuesday, September 29 at 5:15 p.m. and on the 4th Tuesday of each month for a new book club at the library! The “Creative Living Book Club” meets every month with the goal of building a supportive creative community. Exploring books ranging from poetry to collage artists to essays on color to advice from other creatives, we dive into how to build creative rituals into our daily lives and explore new art forms and how to embrace creativity as a way of life. Feel free to bring paper to doodle on, your current fiber arts craft, or a creative project to work on during our monthly meetings as we meet to discuss our latest read! We don’t want to just talk about creativity; we want to embody it! For more information and a link to upcoming readings, please visit our website at woodsholepubliclibrary.org. screening and discussion series using films to foster open, compassionate community dialogue around end-of-life planning, death, dying, post-death care, and bereavement. This community-centered program seeks to help break cultural taboos and ease the fear of the unknown by bringing people together to share perspectives. Hosted by Cape Cod Community Death Education, with discussion facilitated by Heather Massey, Kyle Banks, and others on the facilitation team. This is an in-person event.