“Final Rights: Reclaiming the American Way of Death”

I took a nice hiatus from this space. I said goodbye to 2 clients in May and needed some space to breathe, to grieve, to reconnect with my own calling into deathwork. But I’m glad to slowly ease myself back into this beautiful community.

Last month, I found myself turning to this book again and again. “Final Rights: Reclaiming the American Way of Death” by Joshua Slocum and Lisa Carlson is an excellent resource for death workers. This book organizes regulations and requirements of caring for the dead by state, allowing you to use it as a quick reference tool. For example, I recently had a consultation with a client who wants to be buried on his own rural property here in the state of Tennessee and is seeking guidance on what/how to make his wishes happen. “Final Rights” delineates the legal restrictions in our state (tip: not many!) for someone wishing to be buried on their own land. It also points me to the next steps (County zoning requirements, legal advice to amend the property deed, etc).

Helpful for death doulas and home funeral guides alike but also insanely useful for anyone wanting to step outside the standardized funeral industry’s care of the dead, this is a must-have for your death/grief bookshelf.