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Grave Matters

A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial

By: Mark Harris

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Paperback | 9 December 2008 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
224 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.43 x 13.97 x 2.03

Paperback

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By the time Nate Fisher was laid to rest in a woodland grave sans coffin in the final season of Six Feet Under, Americans all across the country were starting to look outside the box when death came calling.

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, they 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.

In the morbidly fascinating tradition of Stiff, Grave Matters details the embalming process and the environmental aftermath of the standard funeral. Harris 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.

Industry Reviews

"Educated consumers are taking back control of the funeral experience, saving thousands of dollars with options that are more personal, meaningful, and environmentally-friendly. Mark Harris is a gifted story-teller; Grave Matters will surely provoke much-needed family discussions of these important issues." -- Lisa Carlson, author, Caring for the Dead: Your Final Act of Love

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Industry & Industrial Studies Service Industries History General & World History Sociology & Anthropology Sociology Sociology & Customs & Traditions Politics & Government Sociology & Death & Dying Family & Health Coping with / Advice about Personal, Social & Health Topics

Coping with / Advice about Death & Bereavement Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning The Environment Conservation of The Environment

Preface	p. 1
Modern Burial
The Embalming of Jenny Johnson	p. 7
After the Burial	p. 31
Natural Burial
Cremation	p. 49
Burial at Sea	p. 69
The Memorial Reef	p. 87
The Home Funeral	p. 103
A Plain Pine Box	p. 125
Backyard Burial	p. 143
The Natural Cemetery	p. 159
Afterword	p. 185
Acknowledgments	p. 191
Index	p. 197
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Grave Matters

A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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