Reimagining Death: Stories and Practical Wisdom for Home Funerals and Green Burials

This is a beautifully written book about a subject many consider ugly. Lucinda Herring challenges us to perceive death as a natural part of life. She does this through touching stories of home funerals and green burials. There is plenty of practical information within the book’s pages, but the bulk of the book is devoted to sharing the experiences of individuals and families who have embraced a more traditional approach to honoring their dead. What is today considered alternative funerals and burials are actually a return to practices common in the past. Herring writes with sensitivity and does not attempt to impose any set of beliefs or practices. Her intent is to get readers thinking about death as a natural stage of life and to show more consider how they wish to have their own bodies and those of loved ones laid to rest. This may be a difficult book for some to read because of the subject matter, but, as Herring argues, contemplating the end of life can make living a richer experience. show less