Death doulas—sometimes called home-funeral guides—advise families on how to care for the bodies of the dead and carry out necessary tasks when the family chooses an old-fashioned funeral at home, without involving a funeral home. Read more

We’re featuring a guest blog post from a relatively new entrant into the field of direct-to-consumer casket sales, often known as a “casket retailer”. Caskets have been one of the most expensive components of many funerals, and discount retailers have stepped in. Read more

The US Centers for Disease Control has some helpful suggestions on how to express and share grief and loss in times when we can’t gather for funerals as we do normally.

Funeral Guidance for Individuals and Families. Read more

Every 10 years the Federal Trade Commission reviews the “Funeral Rule” for possible reform. The rule requires funeral homes to give consumers printed price lists (when they visit in person), give price quotes by phone, allow consumers to pick item by item (mandatory packaged funerals are not permitted), and more. Read more

For a .pdf version of this post you can share, click here. When a disaster or a pandemic occurs, people are understandably fearful. But humans are prone to amplifying our fears beyond reality, and one of the first places the human mind goes when in a state of fear is to thoughts of death and dead bodies. Read more

The Covid19 pandemic is affecting our lives and our deaths. Families are having to make choices about funerals they haven’t faced before. Everyday more state and federal officials suggest (or mandate) that we refrain from gathering in groups of more than 10 (though this advice has probably changed even as you read this). Read more