Book review: Grave Matters

sew me a shroud
build me a box
put me inside

dig me a hole
carry me there
lay me down soft
cover me up

visit me sometimes

The internet is forever - so where better to put what I want done when I die? 

***

Grave Matters by Mark Harris is a great book. Though it does lead you to think about your inevitable demise, so if that gives you the squick, I guess don't read it. Or do, because death is coming for us all, no use denying it. 

The book does just what it promises in the subtitle: takes you on "a journey through the modern funeral industry to a natural way of burial". You first read about the modern American funeral. The embalming description can get a bit graphic, so skip that if you're squeamish. The rest of the book is not at all like that, so don't worry.

Despite being obviously anti traditional funerals, he writes respectfully and informatively about them. He even mostly avoids any disparaging, though I detect the barest hint of reproof here: "Embalming restores a lifelike appearance to the deceased. Refrigeration does not, which may only matter if you expect the dead to resemble the living."

Harris then goes on to describe 7 "greener" alternatives. Each option is described with a specific death as the narrative focus, but he doesn't skimp on the details. It's not just holding hands and fol-der-ol, but prices and difficulties and contact information. The end of each chapter has a summary, with a section of what, how, cost, and laws. I would argue that there's really more like 4 options - cremation, the sea, at home, or the natural cemetery, but each story of his 7 subdivisions is poignant, raw, and informative. 

I'm sort of surprised he doesn't mention body donation as an option. Perhaps since there's less of a "memorial" component? Though I think that donating your body to science/the body farm (no pictures) would be a perfectly green option. 

Tl;dr: read this book, consider your death, tell your loved ones what to do with your body. 

xo, 
Devo