Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial
Mark Harris
Jan 2007 · Simon and Schuster
4.7star
3 reviewsreport
Ebook
208
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
About this ebook
In the morbidly fascinating tradition of Stiff, Grave Matters follows families who found in "green" burial a more natural, more economic, and ultimately more meaningful alternative to the tired and toxic send-off on offer at the local funeral parlor.
Eschewing chemical embalming and fancy caskets, elaborate and costly funerals, the families followed in Grave Matters have embraced a range of natural options, new and old, that are redefining a better American way of death. Environmental journalist Mark Harris examines this new green burial underground, leading you into natural cemeteries and domestic graveyards, taking you aboard boats from which ashes and memorial "reef balls" are cast into the sea. He follows a family that conducts a home funeral, one that delivers a loved one to the crematory, and another that hires a carpenter to build a pine coffin.
Harris details the embalming process and the environmental aftermath of the standard funeral. He also traces the history of burial in America, from frontier cemeteries to the billion-dollar business it is today, reporting on real families who opted for more simple, natural returns.
For readers who want to follow the examples of these families and, literally, give back from the grave, appendices detail everything you need to know, from exact costs and laws to natural burial providers and their contact information.
Eschewing chemical embalming and fancy caskets, elaborate and costly funerals, the families followed in Grave Matters have embraced a range of natural options, new and old, that are redefining a better American way of death. Environmental journalist Mark Harris examines this new green burial underground, leading you into natural cemeteries and domestic graveyards, taking you aboard boats from which ashes and memorial "reef balls" are cast into the sea. He follows a family that conducts a home funeral, one that delivers a loved one to the crematory, and another that hires a carpenter to build a pine coffin.
Harris details the embalming process and the environmental aftermath of the standard funeral. He also traces the history of burial in America, from frontier cemeteries to the billion-dollar business it is today, reporting on real families who opted for more simple, natural returns.
For readers who want to follow the examples of these families and, literally, give back from the grave, appendices detail everything you need to know, from exact costs and laws to natural burial providers and their contact information.
Ratings and reviews
4.7
3 reviews
A Google user
- Flag inappropriate
April 15, 2008
Please read this book if you do not want to spend big dollars on your funeral or leave it up to your surviving relatives to figure out what you want to do. Also for inquiring minds - what happens during a cremation? Lots of ways to do a burial at sea.
This book details ecologically sound, creative, and inexpensive ways to deal with end of life issues. Things you need to know but never knew you needed to know them.
No one has covered this topic so well. Even though it is an unusual subject, Oprah should put it on her book list - and I keep checking my monthly Costco magazine to see when it is on the shelf.
Akasha Sahnserai
- Flag inappropriate
January 5, 2015
A world of info; labors of love; A compelling argument on why WE should care for our own;
1 person found this review helpful
A Google user
- Flag inappropriate
Most enlightening chapter: CHAPTER ONE: The Embalming of Jenny Johnson.
About the author
Mark Harris is a former environmental columnist with the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. His articles and essays have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, E/The Environmental Magazine, Reader's Digest, and Hope. He lives with his family in Pennsylvania.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
