Home Burials
Home burials which is an alternative to a traditional funeral allows for people to take care of their dead without getting a funeral director or funeral industry involved because they feel it’s is more personal and meaningful experience spending their last moments will their dead and handling all the arrangements themselves. Author Lisa Carlson describes why she decided on a home burial in her book Caring for the Dead: Your Final Act of Love after being faced with the death of her husband John “The task of grappling with “arrangements” seemed enormous. I understood just how easy it would be to let a funeral director take over as I drained my body with tears. But I felt a strong need to express my love and caring for John, even in death.” (pg 19) Instead of allowing a funeral home to take care of the burial, she felt the need to handle all of the arrangements herself without the interference of strangers who couldn’t show her husband the same love and care in death that she could. Home burials allow for the families to show their loved ones the same kind of personal care they devoted to their loved ones before their death. This is one of the reason people choose to have home burials, to be able to assure that their loved ones will be taken care of the way they want to. Even if allowing a funeral home to handle the entire death process seems easier, they know that the funeral home handles the body from the minute they get it to the minute the body is buried which doesn’t leave much room for the family to get involved in the process.
Home burials can be a transforming experience for families and friends who decide to do it. In the New York Times article “home burials offer an intimate alternative” by Katie Zezima, Nancy Manahan described her mothers home burial which had a profound effect on her “There’s something about touching, watching, sitting with a body that lets you know the person is no longer there,” Nancy Manahan said. “We didn’t even realize how emotionally meaningful those rituals are, doing it ourselves, until we did it.” Home burials provide families with an intimate and familiar setting instead of a funeral home where they are able to spend alone time with their dead while being surrounded by family and friends all of whom cared for the deceased. The experience of a home burial can also much more meaningful and personal than a traditional funeral because families are able to carry out the wishes of their dead in a private setting rather than being surrounded by strangers and allowing them to handle the death process, but by handling the death process of their loved one themselves can help the grieving process and make it easier to say their final goodbyes.
Another reason people choose to have a home burial and handle all the arrangements themselves without the funeral industry involved is because it’s a more cost effective alternative to a traditional funeral which can cost up to $10,000. “The cost savings can be substantial, all the more important in an economic downturn. The average American funeral costs about $6,000 for the services of a funeral home, in addition to the costs of cremation or burial. A home funeral can be as inexpensive as the cost of pine for a coffin (for a backyard burial) or a few hundred dollars for cremation or several hundred dollars for cemetery costs.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/us/21funeral.html) Home burials are an alternative to families who aren’t willing to shell out thousands of dollars on a funeral that doesn’t allow for them to have personal involvement in. It allows for them to take care of the body on their terms. Some people even decide to make the coffins themselves.
Overall home burials are an alternative for people who don’t want to hand the death process of their loved ones over to professionals. Home burials can be more affordable than conventional funerals as well as giving the families a more meaningful and personal experience while paying their final respects to their loved ones.
Sources:
Zezima, katie. "Home Burials Offer an Intimate Alternative ." New York Times (2009): 1. Web. 16 May 2011.
Carlson, Lisa. Caring for the Dead: Your Final Act of . 1. 1. Upper Access, 1997. 640. Print.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/us/21funeral.html
Larche,
ReplyDeleteI liked your blog because it provided me with a lot of information. While it had a research paper style your analysis made reading it far less boring than I expected from this assignment. I particularly liked the sentence, “The experience of a home burial can also much more meaningful and personal than a traditional funeral because families are able to carry out the wishes of their dead in a private setting rather than being surrounded by strangers and allowing them to handle the death process, but by handling the death process of their loved one themselves can help the grieving process and make it easier to say their final goodbyes.” While this is an interesting point it is clear to me that some may need the assistance of a “stranger” like a funeral director. They can possibly ease the pain and make the process less difficult and stressful for the family member(s) whom experience the loss. In my opinion I feel that would help me to cope with my loss rather than having to deal with it myself. This was a strong post however I think proofreading is far too often discredited. While the quote above stood out to me it was also a running sentence. Had you proofread I am sure you would have caught it. All in all, good job.
Hey Larche,
ReplyDeleteI like how you explained what a home funreal is to that if people didn't know they know do. I also like how you have a quote. As well as write all the soucres that you use good. But I like you explain why home funeral is a good thing. I think home funerals are a good thing to really say bye to your love ones. What do you think you would do or want done for you?
Larche,
ReplyDeleteYour research and explanation of home funerals is well structured and informative. It was easy to read without being too fluffy. A counter-argument paragraph would have been an interesting addition and there were a few grammatical errors. But the fluidity and amount information made up for that. Strong post.
The information you researched about home burials was very helpful to me because recently it has became one of the alternatives I was thinking about doing for when I die. One quote that I found interesting was “There’s something about touching, watching, sitting with a body that lets you know the person is no longer there,”which explains just how intimate they are.I also liked how you explained more in detail of what a home burial is because most people probably don’t even know or heard one before.
ReplyDelete