Saturday, May 6, 2023
11:30am–12:20pm
“I am dying out loud” is a declarative statement. It means I am taking control of not only how I live, but how I die. As a humanist, I will not only live on my own terms, I will die on my own terms. Unwanted religious overreach is a major problem in this country in our hospitals, nursing homes, hospice care facilities, and funerals homes. The religious pray on people in vulnerable situations; folks who are compromised with serious health issues, or are dying. Dave will tell us about a new grassroots organization he’s developing with chapters in every state that, work with organizations like AHA, will help ensure that every citizen has the right to live, and die on their own terms.
Dave Warnock is dying out loud.
Dave was a charismatic evangelical Christian for over thirty-five years, serving in pastoral ministry for many of those years. A crisis of faith caused him to reevaluate his beliefs, and by 2011 he had come to the conclusion that he could no longer identify as a Christian.
In 2019, Dave was diagnosed with ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease—a terminal disease with no treatment and no cure. Following that, the Dying Out Loud organization was formed. In the past four years, he has become an in-demand podcast guest, YouTube host, and public speaker. His memoir, Childish Things, was released last year.
The organization has evolved into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, now called I Am Dying Out Loud. Its mission is to protect and advocate for those suffering from a serious or terminal illness by removing unwanted religious influence from the process of healthcare, dying, and death, and to offer “bucket list” experiences to those diagnosed with ALS.
Dave talks now about living on your own terms, and dying on your own terms. He advocates for grabbing all the moments from this one life we know we have.
