"Very soon after, we rescued Helen and brought her into the dining room, where we arranged her cozily on a massage table draped with beautiful tapestries that Linda had collected over the years from her travels. We also surrounded Helen with all kinds of herbs and flowers from the farm, lit candles whose flames flickered in the mirror on the piano, and put on a CD called Graceful Passages in the background, with music and spoken words from different spiritual traditions to guide the dying and the dead across the threshold." - Reimagining Death: Stories and Practical Wisdom for Home Funerals and Green Burials by Lucinda Herring

 

 That was an excerpt from one of many wonderful home funeral stories in Lucinda Herring's 2019 book, which is a comprehensive guide filled with inspirational, lovingly recalled experiences of both home funerals, and green burials. In it, she describes the death of her own mother, the desire to have a home funeral for her, and how her expectations had to change due to family, a storm, and much more.

 

Home funerals can be scary and daunting, but first-hand accounts from people all around the world, and in Lucinda's book, are proof that anyone can do it, while also receiving one of the most meaningful gifts in life - time to say goodbye.

 

Karen M. Wyatt, MD, author of the award-winning What Really Matters, hospice physician, and founder of End of Life University, describes the book perfectly. "For all who long to experience death as a natural and sacred part of life, Reimagining Death is the ideal handbook to inform, inspire, and ignite a new vision for our final passage. It is a beacon of hope, possibility, and renewal."

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Read Lucinda's book for heartbreaking yet heartwarming end of life experiences and how to build community, reimagine, and reclaim deathcare practices. For more in-depth information and how-to instructions on home funerals, go to CINDEA (Canadian Integrative Network for Death Education and Alternatives), or contact Madeline to help lead the way.