Greening Death

October 1, 2015
Kelly writes engagingly on this exceedingly timely topic: how funerary rites are affected by the burgeoning environmental movement. Through conversations with people in the field, she explains what a green burial is and how specific aspects of traditional funerals, from embalming to caskets, liners, and vaults conflict with its ecological ideals. But tackling more than just technical aspects and logistics, including regulations, Kelly also covers the complexities of cultural perspectives on death and the desire for guidance pertaining to alternative funerary practices even beyond cremation. She weighs in with personal experiences and frustrations over the challenge to honor tradition when no one knows what the new tradition should be, providing a welcome balance for her coverage of more practical topics. Changing how we care for the dead, she notes, means restoring our relationship to the land. Interestingly, some things about today's choices are not so modern after all, but in fact return to practices that were once understood as the right things to do. A useful and highly readable title that serves a valuable purpose in our complicated times.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)