Precis: The way we deal with the care of the dead in this country is expensive, wasteful, harmful, to the earth, and overall unnecessary. There are more "green" and natural ways of caring for the dead. There are natural cemeteries in which people can be buried with out all the unnecessary extra accessories. There are also simple pine boxes which are bio-degradable, meaning it can decompose over time and thus is healthier for the environment. Alternatively, one can do a backyard burial which gives more freedom to the love d ones to treat the body as they wish and bury them as best fit.
Quotes:
"“He’d been moved, too, by the Jewish funeral rite he read about, in which the dead are buried in a plain, pine box, no matter what their station in life." (pg. 126)
"You'll come across no upright headstone or monument to the dead, no burial plot marked off with stone edging or linked chain. Nowhere will you find vases of perfect plastic flowers, live plants blooming in cellophane-wrapped pottery". (pg. 159)
Analysis: Similar to many of the other books, opposed to mainstream industrialized practices, that we've read this year this book took you through a series of steps. He explained the "nightmarish atrocities" that occur, gave many examples, analyzed and criticized, and the gave alternatives. The more natural way seems to be a much more reasonable, efficient, inexpensive, and more humane way to care for the dead. However, I find that my own "attachment" to the normal practices make me view these alternatives with a bit of uncertainty and uncomfort. Although I understand how these methods are better in many different ways, there is a feeling that is hard to explain of uncomfort. Maybe it is they way we have been taught to deal with death.
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