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95-646: Caitlin Marie Doughty (born August 19, 1984) is an American mortician , author, blogger , YouTuber , and advocate for death acceptance and the reform of Western funeral industry practices. She is the owner of Clarity Funerals and Cremation of Los Angeles, creator of the Web series Ask a Mortician , founder of The Order of the Good Death , and author of three bestselling books, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from

190-526: A deed restriction . As for conservation burial grounds, restoration of at least two to four hectares of land and an official draft of a conservation easement are additional requirements. Natural burial grounds employ a variety of methods of memorialization. Families that bury their loved ones in nature preserves can record the GPS coordinates of the location where they are buried, without using physical markers. Some natural burial sites use flat wooden plaques, or

285-553: A call for a new name for the profession in the US to distance itself from the title undertaker , a term that was then perceived to have been tarnished by its association with death. The term mortician was the winning entry. People's need to respect the dead and their survivors is as ancient as civilization itself, and death care is among the world's oldest professions. Ancient Egypt is a probable pioneer in supporting full-time morticians; intentional mummification began around 2600 BC, with

380-410: A debt, for purposes of burial the body is treated as the next of kin's property. Her highest priority changes that she would like to see in US law would be the repeal of the laws in eight states that require a funeral home for at least some part of the process, and to make alkaline hydrolysis available in more than the current eight states. One funeral industry professional of 40 years experience lauded

475-477: A general permit under the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) that authorizes the burial of non-cremated human remains at sea. Human remains can be buried at sea as an alternate form of a natural burial under certain guidelines as per The United States Coast Guard, The United States Navy, or any civil authority charged with the responsibility for making such arrangements. A hybrid cemetery

570-745: A given category. Conventional funeral providers in 39 states now offer the burial package approved by the GBC. California: Most of the 32-acre (130,000 m ) Fernwood Burial Ground, adjacent to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in Mill Valley , California, is set aside for natural burial, with no tombstones or caskets. Purissima Cemetery is a natural burial cemetery located south of Half Moon Bay , California. Florida: Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery in Gainesville, Florida,

665-640: A large part" of the book, there are also portraits of her three eccentric coworkers at Pacific Interment, who each teach lessons she carries after leaving to attend mortuary school. "What holds Smoke Gets in Your Eyes together," the Post said, is Doughty's overarching goal to increase the reader's awareness of their own mortality and face their fear of death, and the book's effective use of humor keeps it from being too sorrowful or gruesome, in spite of its graphic descriptions. The Boston Globe ' s review of Smoke Gets in Your Eyes said that, "If at times Doughty's voice

760-661: A legal requirement. The role of a funeral director in Canada can include embalming, sales, oversight of funeral services as well as other aspects of needed funeral services. A funeral director in Canada will assume many responsibilities after proper education and licensing. Courses will include science and biology, ethics, and practical techniques of embalming. There are a number of organizations available to Canadian funeral directors. Natural burial The body may be prepared without chemical preservatives or disinfectants such as embalming fluid , which are designed to inhibit

855-425: A less healthy grieving process because of a culture of avoiding conversations about death, avoiding the subject as taboo. She said the establishment funeral industry benefits from public's ignorance of the options and rights they have in how to handle the death, having no incentive to correct the perception that handing the body over to a funeral home for a traditional funeral is the best or only option. The book's goal

950-510: A marketable service, Māori honored the dead in environmentally responsible ways. In the Māori language natural burials are called urupā tautaiao . Traditional burial practices included standing burials – with the corpse oriented upright in a standing position – and suspending bodies in trees as they decompose, before collecting the bones and interring them in a wāhi tapu site. These practices had died out by around 1900. Much of Maori culture

1045-543: A name written on a natural rock. Many families plant trees, or other native plants near the grave to provide a living memorial. While natural burials tend to prevent the environmental damage done by conventional techniques, some practitioners go further by using burial fees to acquire land to restore native habitat and save endangered species. Such land management techniques are called "conservation burials". In addition to restoration ecology , and habitat conservation projects, others have proposed alternative natural uses of

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1140-540: A natural state, she feared she would be left with her last memory of them as a corpse, growing cold and showing subtle changes that indicate the permanence of the end of life, the very things Doughty said are the goal of closer involvement in the death process. Doughty said she has never heard regrets from anyone who has done it; rather, they said it was a positive experience where they felt empowered and that they were "giving something back to this person that you loved." Conversely, Doughty has heard from many who only briefly saw

1235-518: A number of different natural burial parks across Australia, each of them slightly different in what they offer. One of the more advanced parks is Lake Macquarie Memorial Park, on the Central Coast of New South Wales , which contains a Natural Memorial reserve dedicated to natural burials. New Zealand's Natural Burial organisation was started in 1999 by Mark Blackham. It is a not-for-profit organization that advocates for natural cemeteries, promotes

1330-514: A person's remains are fed to vultures in a burial known as sky burial. This is seen as being good to the environment as well as good karma in Buddhism . Burial at sea or in another large body of natural water is seen as a natural burial if done in a way that benefits the environment and without formaldehyde. Some organizations specialize in natural burial at sea (in a shroud), allowing the body to decompose or be consumed by animals. The EPA has issued

1425-428: A preparation room for embalming, a chapel , and a casket selection room. They usually have a hearse for transportation of bodies, a flower car , and limousines . They also normally sell caskets and urns . Licensing requirements in the US are determined at the state level. Most require a combination of post-secondary education (typically an associate's degree ), passage of a National Board Examination, passage of

1520-579: A relatively modern concept in Western societies, they have been practiced for many years in different cultures out of "religious obligation, necessity, or tradition". For example, many Muslims perform natural burial out of a duty to their religion. Others, like those in African countries, bury naturally because they cannot afford the cost of embalming . In China, the cultural revolution saw the popularity of burial rise over cremation. Truly natural burials also include

1615-406: A return to such practices as memento mori , reminders of one's own mortality , resulting in healthier grieving , mourning , and closure after the inevitable deaths of people around us, as well as starting a movement to broaden the funeral industry to offer more funeral options, such as natural burial , sky burial , and alkaline hydrolysis (liquid cremation). Embalming began to dominate in

1710-445: A state board examination, and one to two years' work as an apprentice . A funeral director in the UK will usually take on most of the administrative duties and arrangement of the funeral service, including flower arrangements, meeting with family members, and overseeing the funeral and burial service. Embalming or cremation of the body requires further training. In the UK no formal licence

1805-503: A stroll and honor the dead, as opposed to a more artificially constructed graveyard. While less environmentally friendly, an alternative design of the pod offers to contain ashes instead of the body. Interring bodies above ground level by means of a tree or scaffolding was once a common practice among Naga people , the Balinese , and certain tribes of indigenous peoples in Australia and

1900-514: A strong focus on ways of "making death a part of one's life". "If Doughty and the Order's death-care revolution is successful, Americans will be more comfortable contemplating mortality and dying — thus preparing for it, seriously considering alternatives such as green burial , composting , and using crematoria that have carbon-offset policies". Mortician A funeral director , also known as an undertaker or mortician ( American English ),

1995-462: A van, prepared them for viewings , cremated them, and delivered the cremains to the families. Dealing with bureaucracy, such as acquiring death certificates or obtaining the release of a body from the coroner , occupied much of her work. Her supervisor and coworkers at Pacific Interment often tested her with hands-on assignments, as on her first day at work she had to shave a corpse, and Doughty accepted any task. Doughty has said she knew almost from

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2090-425: A website that shares articles and information by prominent figures in the death industry that make individuals more informed about the inevitable conclusion of one's life. In previous years the public had an engagement with the cemetery as a community place, which people do not have anymore. The Order of the Good Death is Doughty's way of creating a community while teaching individuals to accept death. Doughty's work has

2185-575: A wide range of environmentally friendly services and alternatives to conventional funerary customs and corpse disposal practices in Canada. The Green Burial Council is an environmental certification organization for green burials practised in North America (Canada and the US ). Environmental certificates are offered to cemeteries, funeral homes, and product manufacturers involved in the funeral industry. These certificates would allow consumers to distinguish between

2280-644: Is Canada's first modern stand-alone natural burial ground that is open to the public. The cemetery is in a forested area between the ocean and the hills, where the Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystem is restored and protected, and graves are marked with memorial stones gathered from the land. Located in Victoria, British Columbia, the Royal Oak Burial Park opened the Woodlands grave site for green burial space in

2375-492: Is a bit too breezy ... her observations are solid." The Fredericksburg, Virginia Free Lance-Star said the book was engrossing and "fulfills all its pre-pub hype, jacket blurbs and positive advance reviews". Natalie Kusz wrote in The New York Times Book Review that, "the book is more consequential than its spin potential, [...] more cultural critique than exposé," using Doughty's personal narrative to lead

2470-463: Is a conventional cemetery that offers the essential aspects of natural burial, either throughout the cemetery or in a designated section. Hybrid cemeteries can earn a certification that does not require them to use vaults. This allows for the use of any eco-friendly, biodegradable burial container such as a shroud or a soft wood casket. An increasing number of companies, such as Capsula Mundi, The Living Urn, and Coeio, are offering tree pod burials where

2565-519: Is a professional who has licenses in funeral arranging and embalming (or preparation of the deceased) involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as well as the arrangements for the funeral ceremony (although not the directing and conducting of the funeral itself unless clergy are not present). Funeral directors may at times be asked to perform tasks such as dressing (in garments usually suitable for daily wear), casketing (placing

2660-467: Is another option. Jewish law forbids embalming for traditional burials, which it considers to be desecration of the body. The body is ritually washed by select members of the Jewish community, wrapped in either a linen or muslin sheet, and placed in an all-wood casket. The casket must not have any metal in it, and it often has holes in the bottom to ensure that it and the cadaver rapidly decompose and return to

2755-510: Is defined by a respect and duty to Papatūānuku , or mother nature. As such, bodies went untreated with artificial chemicals or preservatives, which sped up the natural process of decomposition . As a result of European colonization, the process of tangihanga (customary funeral) has integrated with European burial practices, such as the use of coffins and chemical embalming. The natural burial movement more closely aligns with traditional Māori customary funeral ritual, and may help to decolonize

2850-472: Is located in Pickering, Ontario, and is attached to the original traditional cemetery. The cemetery offers natural burials for individuals who have been embalmed to eco-friendly standards, then interred using biodegradable shrouds and coffins. Grave sites will be left to grow over naturally, meaning grass will not be mowed and the placement of artificial flowers and other markers will not be allowed. There are

2945-510: Is made up of both traditional burials with headstones and regular interment practices, as well as a green space dedicated to eco-friendly burials. Consumers are given information about biodegradable coffins and procedures for a green burial. Families are not allowed to place permanent markers on the grave sites other than native species of plants such as flowers and bushes. The Meadowvale Cemetery originally opened in 1981 in Brampton, Ontario, with

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3040-407: Is one where the family is involved, washing and dressing the body and keeping it at home. When they've taken the time they need with the dead person, transporting the person to a natural burial cemetery and putting them straight into the ground, no heavy sealed casket or vault. Just food for worms." NPR interviewer Terry Gross said to Doughty that if she spent time at home with a loved one's body in

3135-688: Is practiced – the release of the body into a river. The Ganges is the most sacred river in Hinduism and is central to the religion's funerary traditions therefore it's the preferred river for funeral rites. The riverside city of Varanasi is the center of this practice where massive religious sites along the Ganges, like Manikarnika Ghat , are dedicated to this purpose. Situations that call for Jal Pravah are unwed girls, death from infectious disease, death from snakebite, children under 5 years of age, holy men, pregnant women, and people who have committed suicide. Nor are

3230-580: Is required to become an undertaker (funeral director). There are national trade organizations such as the British Institute of Funeral Directors (BIFD), the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) and the Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF). The BIFD offers a licence to funeral directors who have obtained a diploma-level qualification; these diplomas are offered by both

3325-875: Is there a burial vault, coffin or casket. Islamic law does not require any of these. Due to their potential for being repurposed for public use, natural burial sites can offer many valuable services that modern methods of burial (i.e. cemeteries) do not, such as "recreation, human health and restoration, stormwater management , microclimate regulation, [and] aesthetics". Issues like the scarcity and high expense of real estate could possibly be mitigated by reinventing existing spaces like cemeteries, instead of developing on new land. For example, instead of replacing modern cemeteries with commercial or residential development, they can continue to function as green space for public parks. However, this concept of repurposing graveyards into not only more eco-friendly burial sites but areas of recreation causes controversy between those whose sole intent

3420-685: Is to change that culture by, "witnessing firsthand how death is handled in other cultures" in the hope that she can "demonstrate that there is no one prescribed way to 'do' or understand death." The book reached No. 7 on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller list and No. 9 on The New York Times list. Doughty's third book, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death , answers 35 questions sourced from children. The book originated from Doughty's observation that most adults she encountered had not received adequate death education. An excerpt, read by Doughty, will appear on

3515-510: Is to grieve and those who believe the land could be used more productively. Alternatives to ground burials include burial in a coral reef, sky burial , burial at sea , hybrid cemeteries and human composting . Cremated remains are sometimes placed inside concrete coral reef balls, and ceremoniously placed in the sea as part of a reef ecosystem. These balls are used to repair damage to coral reefs , and to provide new habitat for fish and other sea life. In some parts of Tibet and Mongolia ,

3610-452: Is used for embalming, it breaks down, and the chemicals released into the ground after burial and ensuing decomposition are inert. The problems with the use of formaldehyde and its constituent components in natural burial are the exposure of mortuary workers to it and the killing of the decomposer microbes necessary for breakdown of the body in the soil. Natural burial promotes the restoration of poor soil areas and allows for long-term reuse of

3705-499: The Los Angeles Times bestseller lists of hardcover nonfiction for the week ending October 5, 2014. Doughty's intention with the book was to combine "memoir, science, and manifesto" in an entertaining way that would attract a wide readership to the unpleasant topics of death, decay, and corpse handling, to challenge the reader to confront their own mortality. Doughty says readers have told her that they themselves are fascinated by

3800-579: The Americas . The bodies were left in these structures, exposed to the elements, until the flesh decomposed and only bones remained. Often the bones would be retrieved by family for burial or other funerary practices. The Tower of Silence is a raised circular structure used in Zoroastrian funerary rituals that exposes the corpse to the elements for decomposition in order to avoid contaminating soil and water with decomposing bodies. After scavenger animals consume

3895-519: The Ask a Mortician series has largely shifted focus to a series of short form documentaries where Doughty speaks about notable historical events involving death. These have varied from a series on funeral home malfeasance called “Cadaver Crimes” to stories about famous shipwrecks such as the disaster of the SS Eastland . In September 2014, Doughty's first book, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from

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3990-677: The University of Chicago , focusing on death and culture , graduating in 2006. She studied the European witch trials in the early modern period , and directed a play she had written based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe and the Christina Rossetti poem " Goblin Market ". After graduation and moving to San Francisco in 2006, at age 22, she sought hands-on exposure to modern death practices in funeral homes , and after seeking employment for six months,

4085-525: The BIFD and NAFD. The British Institute of Embalmers (BIE) offers embalming training and qualifications. All of the national organizations offer voluntary membership of "best practice" standards schemes, which includes regular premises inspection and adherence to a specific code of conduct . These organizations help funeral directors demonstrate that they are committed to continuing professional development , and they have no issue with regulation should it become

4180-556: The Crematory (2014), From Here to Eternity; Traveling the World to Find the Good Death (2017), and Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death (2019). Doughty grew up in Kaneohe , Oahu , Hawaii, where she had no exposure to death until, at age 8, she witnessed another child fall to her death from a balcony at a shopping mall. She was quickly taken from the scene of

4275-480: The Crematory was published by W. W. Norton & Company. It is a memoir of her experiences that serves as a manifesto of her goals. The book is named for the 20th-century pop song " Smoke Gets in Your Eyes ", in reference to both the literal smoke of cremation and the associated emotions. W. W. Norton's Tom Mayer outbid seven other publishers for the worldwide rights to Smoke Gets in Your Eyes in 2012. The book debuted at No. 14 on The New York Times and at No. 10 on

4370-444: The GBC. More specifically, a hybrid burial ground can be certified when it forbids embalming, prohibits toxic or non-degradable chemicals in the burial process, and mandates natural burial advertising. The second type, natural burial grounds, must fulfill the requirements of hybrid burial grounds as well as require "site planning" and a survey of the land that stakes out important areas for preservation . Natural burial grounds also need

4465-435: The Good Death, an association of like-minded death professionals, along with artists, writers, and academics who shared her goals of reforming Western attitudes about death, funerals, and mourning. Doughty's main inspiration for her advocacy work was the frequent absence of the decedents' families in the process, which she attributed to the Western death anxiety and death phobia . She wanted to encourage death acceptance, and

4560-469: The UK. There is no legal requirements for using a coffin in the UK and a body can be buried in a cloth if desired. Each province and territory within Canada has its own resources and regulations for handling the disposal of a body . In British Columbia , green burials are treated the same way as traditional burials , as embalming is not legally required for interment . All burials are required to follow

4655-456: The US after the Civil War . A century later, in the 1960s, Americans began to turn away from embalming and burial, as cremation became increasingly popular, so that today it is used in almost half of deaths in urban areas. Cremation is seen as a threat to the traditional funeral industry, but has a reputation as the more environmentally friendly option. This change can be traced to the lifting of

4750-533: The US were owned by one of three corporations. The majority of morticians work in small, independent family-run funeral homes. The owner usually hires two or three other morticians to help them. Often, this hired help is in the family, perpetuating the family's ownership. Other firms that were family-owned have been acquired and are operated by large corporations such as Service Corporation International , though such homes usually trade under their pre-acquisition names. Most funeral homes have one or more viewing rooms,

4845-540: The World to Find the Good Death , illustrated by Landis Blair , was published in October 2017. It chronicles Doughty's travels to see first-hand death customs in Mexico, Indonesia, Japan, Spain, and Bolivia, as well as at home in the US, at an open air funeral pyre and a body farm . In the book's introduction, Doughty said Americans too often spend more than they need to on funerals for things they do not really want or need, and have

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4940-490: The accident and it was never spoken of again. For several years, she became obsessed with fears of her own or her family's deaths. Doughty says she could have recovered better from the incident if she had been given the opportunity to face the reality of the child's death. Doughty attended St. Andrew's Priory School , a private Episcopal all-girls college prep school in Honolulu . In college she majored in medieval history at

5035-400: The attitude that "talking about death is deviant". She says, "Death is not deviant, it's actually the most normal and universal act there is." She is working to overcome the belief that dead bodies are dangerous and can only be handled by trained professionals using technical equipment and specialized facilities. She says the most important thing she wants the public to know is that the corpse is

5130-433: The ban on cremation by Pope Paul VI in 1963, and to the publication in the same year of The American Way of Death by Jessica Mitford , documenting abuses in the funeral industry and criticizing the excessive cost of funerals. Mitford's book, and the movement it started, was one of Doughty's inspirations, but Doughty feels that while Mitford had the right target, the profit-driven funeral industry, Mitford erred in sharing

5225-462: The beginning of her work in the death industry that she wanted to change attitudes about death and find a way to offer alternative funeral arrangements. After one year at the crematory, Doughty attended Cypress College 's Mortuary Science program and graduated as a certified mortician, though in California there are paths to becoming licensed without attending mortuary college. She founded The Order of

5320-416: The best-preserved mummies dating to around 1570 to 1075 BC. Specialized priests spent 70 full days on a single corpse. Only royalty, nobility and wealthy commoners could afford the service, considered by some to be essential for accessing eternal life; the poorer performed very basic intentional mummification or simply buried the body in a dry spot hoping it would naturally mummify. In every case, an intact body

5415-468: The body in a hospital, and later in an artificial, embalmed state, and they regret not having more time to grieve close to the corpse. Gross asked Doughty if people seeking out and witnessing death in beheading videos is comparable to the comfortability with death that she advocates, and Doughty said they were in no way similar, one "a form of psychological terror" and the other "a dead body in its natural state." But, Doughty said, terrorists know how strong

5510-521: The body is prohibited. The body must be kept in its natural state, which is then placed in some form of biodegradable container or shroud. Traditional grave markers are not used, but rather families are given options to engrave natural boulders or plants. Found in Cobourg, Ontario, the Cobourg Union Cemetery is located on 20 acres of land, currently containing 3,800 burial lots. The cemetery

5605-672: The burial of bodies within tree roots in the Amazon rainforest in Peru, and burying the deceased in the Tanzanian bush. According to Nature , the earliest known human burial dates back to the Middle Stone Age (about 74 – 82 thousand years ago) of a toddler in what is now Kenya. Natural burial has been practiced for thousands of years, but has been interrupted in modern times by new methods such as vaults, liners, embalming, and mausoleums that mitigate

5700-436: The cemetery since October 2008, dedicating its space to burials that allow for the natural decomposition of human remains which in turn provides nutrients for the surrounding ecosystem . The area has native Coastal Douglas Fir along with a variety of ecologically similar tree species, which the cemetery claims to keep as close to the natural ecosystem as possible. In order to be interred in Royal Oak Burial Park, embalming of

5795-600: The concept to the public, and certifies cemeteries, funeral directors and caskets for use in participating cemeteries. The first natural cemetery in New Zealand was established in 2008 in the capital, Wellington, as a partnership between the Wellington City Council and Natural Burials. It is the nation's biggest natural cemetery, covering approx 2 hectares, and home to 120 burials (April 2015). More natural cemeteries have since been set up by between Natural Burials and

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5890-488: The corpse in the coffin), and cossetting (applying any sort of cosmetic or substance to the best viewable areas of the corpse for the purpose of enhancing its appearance) with the proper licenses. A funeral director may work at a funeral home or be an independent employee. The term mortician is derived from the Latin word mort- ('death') with the ending -ician . In 1895, the trade magazine The Embalmers' Monthly put out

5985-422: The corpse is first stored in an egg-shaped pod made of biodegradable and compostable materials. The pod is then deposited into the ground, where a tree is planted above it. Over the years, the body and pod decompose and enrich the soil with nutrients for the tree to intake and grow. Some architectural prototypes employing tree pod burials envision a forest park of the deceased, where mourning loved ones could take

6080-409: The corpse of someone they lost, which Doughty says is the result of the death industry "whitewashing death". Doughty instead advocates spending time with the body, not just hours, but around two days, to fully accept the death. She also encourages rituals and personal participation in the preparation of the corpse, including washing or dressing it. Originally focused on answering questions from viewers,

6175-500: The council authorities in New Plymouth in 2011, Otaki in 2012. and Marlborough in 2014. As of 2024 there are 20 natural burial sites across the country. Other councils have set up small natural burial zones: Marsden Valley in 2011, Motueka in 2012, and Hamilton in 2014. Although these have all been based on the approach used by Natural Burials, they have not been certified by the organisation. Long before natural burials became

6270-459: The dead for the benefit of the living arose in the European Age of Enlightenment . Dutch scientist Frederik Ruysch 's work attracted the attention of royalty and legitimized postmortem anatomy . Most importantly, Ruysch developed injected substances and waxes that could penetrate the smallest vessels of the body and seal them against decay. Historically, from ancient Egypt to Greece and Rome to

6365-578: The deathcare industry, and such organizations and institutions as The Nature Conservancy , The Trust for Public Land , AARP, and the University of Colorado. The organization established the nation's first certifiable standards for cemeteries, funeral providers, burial product manufacturers, and cremation facilities. As of 2013, there are a total of 37 burial grounds certified by the GBC in 23 states and British Columbia. A cemetery becomes certified by demonstrating compliance with stringent established standards for

6460-463: The decomposition process. In the late 19th century Sir Francis Seymour Hayden proposed "earth to earth burial" in a pamphlet of the same name, as an alternative to both cremation and the slow putrefaction of encased corpses. The Green Burial Council (GBC) identifies three types of natural burial cemeteries: All types of natural burials – hybrid, natural, and conservation – must meet standards of "burial practice" and "customer relation" according to

6555-511: The early United States, women typically did all of the preparation of dead bodies. They were called "layers out of the dead". In the mid-19th century, gender roles within funeral service in the United States began to change. In the late 19th century, the industry became male dominated with the development of funeral directors, which changed the funeral industry both locally and nationally. In 2003, 15 percent of corporately owned funeral homes in

6650-440: The earth. Burial vaults are not used unless required by the cemetery. In Israel , Jews are buried without a casket, in just the shroud. Islamic law instructs that the deceased be washed and buried with only a wrapping of white cloth. The cloth is used to preserve the dead person's dignity and to emphasize simplicity. The cloth is sometimes perfumed, but in a natural burial, no chemical preservatives or embalming fluid are used, nor

6745-457: The family's legal quasi-property , and that, "you have the power over what happens to that body. Don't let anyone, funeral home, hospital, coroner, etc., pressure you into making a quick decision you might regret. Take the time to do your research and understand your options. The dead person will still be dead in 24 hours; you have time to make the right decision for you." While a body is not commercial property, which can be transferred or held for

6840-489: The flesh, skeletal remains are retrieved and put into a central pit where they are allowed to break down the rest of the way. Scattering the ashes of a deceased individual into a body of water is practiced in many cultures around the world and plays a part in several religions, including Hinduism . Cremation is the traditional manner of Hindu final deposition which takes place during Antyesti rites. However, some circumstances do not allow for cremation so instead "Jal Pravah"

6935-429: The goal of greater family involvement in funerals, but said it was "virtually impossible" for many families today to return to preparing bodies themselves or hosting wakes in their own homes, citing the challenges of moving a body themselves, or dealing with a body that had been autopsied , or, especially, the innate fear of contact with the dead, which he did not think would "ever change". Doughty says her "dream funeral

7030-435: The graphic descriptions of such things as "stomach-content removal" or the "bubblating" of human fat during a cremation, yet they are "not sure other people will be able to handle it." Doughty said, "I think we need to admit that, as a group, as humans, we are all drawn to the gory details. When reality is hidden from us, we crave it." The Washington Post noted that while Doughty's "endearingly anxious inner workings take up

7125-496: The green burial section of the cemetery opening in 2012. The cemetery allows for both burial and cremation as long as embalming is done without formaldehyde or other harsh chemicals. They also ensure that remains are placed into a non-toxic , biodegradable container. Graves are not allowed to be marked with traditional headstones, but they offer a granite stone at the site's entrance for name engraving. Duffin Meadows Cemetery

7220-456: The ground. However, not all engineered wood products are produced using formaldehyde glues. Caskets and coffins are often manufactured using exotic and even endangered species of wood, and are designed to prevent decomposition. While there are generally no restrictions on the type of coffin used, most sites encourage the use of environmentally friendly coffins made from materials like cane, bamboo, wicker or fiberboard . A weight bearing shroud

7315-423: The industry's, and the public's, unhealthy desire to push out of sight and avoid thinking about the corpse itself. Doughty seeks to build on Mitford's reforms but in a direction that embraces the reality of death and returns to funeral and mourning practices that include spending time with and having contact with the dead body itself. Doughty advocates reappropriating pejoratives like 'morbid', and wants to reverse

7410-428: The land such as sustainable agriculture and permaculture , to maintain the burial area in perpetuity. Landscaping methods may accelerate or slow down the decomposition rate of bodies. Natural burials sometimes do not use any machinery or heavy equipment for digging the grave site. Instead, the grave sites may be dug by hand. Each year, 22,500 cemeteries across the United States bury approximately: When formaldehyde

7505-458: The land. Coffins (tapered-shoulder shape) and caskets (rectangular) are made from a variety of materials, most of them not biodegradable. 80–85% of the caskets sold for burial in North America in 2006 were made of stamped steel. Solid wood and particle board (chipboard) coffins with hardwood veneers account for 10–15% of sales, and fibreglass and alternative materials such as woven fiber make up

7600-408: The largest possible audience for a subject that is otherwise off-putting and depressing to many potential viewers. Doughty said, "I take my job and this whole movement incredibly seriously. I do [the videos] with a sense of humor, but it's my life, and it's really important to me that a positive death message gets across." Fans of Ask a Mortician have told Doughty they were shamed for wanting to view

7695-487: The microbial decomposers that break the body down. It may be buried in a biodegradable coffin , casket, or shroud . The grave does not use a burial vault or outer burial container that would prevent the body's contact with soil. The grave should be shallow enough to allow microbial activity similar to that found in composting . Natural burial grounds have been used throughout human history and are used in many countries. Although natural burials present themselves as

7790-489: The modern fear and denial of death is, and they are exploiting that to heighten the force of the terror they cause. Doughty's YouTube series Ask a Mortician began in 2011, humorously explores morbid and sometimes taboo death topics such as decomposition and necrophilia . By 2012, after 12 episodes, Ask a Mortician had 434,000 views, and by January 2022 the channel had 258 clips with a total of 215,000,000 views. Doughty uses an irreverent, offbeat and surreal tone to attract

7885-402: The new Lit Hub /Podglomerate Storybound podcast, accompanied by an original score from singer-songwriter Stephanie Strange. Doughty is the founder of "The Order of the Good Death" an inclusive community of funeral industry professionals, academics, as well as artists who advocate for and make possible, a more death informed society. "The Order of the Good Death" is presented to the public as

7980-512: The optimization of land use. The Natural Burial Association is a volunteer, non-profit organization independent of the funeral industry. The organization's mandate is to facilitate the creation of natural burial grounds in Ontario, which provide an environmentally-friendly option at death. Located in Burgoyne Valley on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Salt Spring Island Natural Cemetery

8075-433: The presence of the funeral procession by wailing loudly. Other paid actors would don the masks of ancestors and recreate their personalities, dramatizing the exploits of their departed scion. These purely ceremonial undertakers of the day nonetheless had great religious and societal impact; a larger number of actors indicated greater power and wealth for the deceased and their family. Modern ideas about proper preservation of

8170-421: The process of burial for Māori. The Green Burial Council (GBC) is an independent, tax-exempt, nonprofit organization that aims to encourage sustainability in the interment industry and to use burial as a means of ecological restoration and landscape conservation. Founded in 2005, the GBC has been stewarded by individuals representing the environmental/conservation community, consumer organizations , academia,

8265-486: The public to a new relationship with death. Since writing the book, Doughty began working to launch Undertaking LA, a funeral service alternative to the mainstream funeral options. It started as a seminar series meant to educate the public on their death options under California law. As of 2014, the service consisted of "two licensed morticians telling the public, 'you don't need us!'", instead advocating DIY funerals. Doughty's second book, From Here to Eternity: Traveling

8360-480: The regulations set forth by their respective provincial government. With growing interest in promoting eco-friendly practices, natural burials have been discussed in various Canadian news outlets. Some debate still exists around what makes certain funeral practices eco-friendly and how cemeteries justify these claims as no government-imposed standard or definition currently exist. Eco-friendly funeral practices in Canada can include: Canada offers

8455-437: The rest. In Australia, 85–90% of coffins are solid wood and particle board. Most traditional caskets in the UK are made from chipboard covered in a thin veneer. Handles are usually plastic designed to look like brass. Chipboard requires glue to stick the wood particles together. Some glues that are used, such as those that contain formaldehyde, are feared to cause pollution when they are burned during cremation or when degrading in

8550-592: The three different levels of green burial grounds and their appropriate standards. The Green Burial Council also offers information on the types of coffins, urns , and embalming tools that would fall under the eco-friendly category and be available for North American consumers. The Green Burial Society of Canada was founded in 2013 with the goal to ensure standards of certification are set for green burial practices. The society emphasizes five principles of green burial: no embalming, direct earth burial, ecological restoration and conservation, communal memorialization , and

8645-524: The very poor cremated due to the cost of wood. If a family cannot afford enough wood to incinerate the entire body, the remaining body parts that were not consumed by fire are set adrift in the Ganges. Rather than being an ecologically friendly practice like other natural burial methods, Jal Pravah is a notable component of pollution in the Ganges in the Varanasi region because of the high number of bodies involved. The Association of Natural Burial Grounds (ANBG)

8740-546: Was considered paramount to access the afterlife. Across successive cultures, religion remained a prime motive for securing a body against decay and/or arranging burial in a planned manner; some considered the fate of departed souls to be fixed and unchangeable (e.g. ancient Mesopotamia) and considered care for a grave to be more important than the actual burial. In ancient Rome , wealthy individuals trusted family to care for their corpse, but funeral rites would feature professional mourners: most often actresses who would announce

8835-476: Was established by The Natural Death Centre charity in 1994. It aims to help people to establish sites, to provide guidance to natural burial ground operators, to represent its members, and to provide a Code of Conduct for members. The NDC also publishes The Natural Death Handbook . The first woodland burial ground in the UK was created in 1993 at Carlisle Cemetery and is called The Woodland Burial . Nearly 300 dedicated natural burial grounds have been created in

8930-425: Was hired in the crematory of Pacific Interment (called Westwind Cremation & Burial in her book) despite her lack of any experience in the funeral industry. Pacific Interment could be called "the anti- Forest Lawn ", referring to what Doughty sees as the theme-park-like, kitschy corporate funeral behemoth that much of modern American funeral practice is modeled on. She picked up corpses from homes and hospitals in

9025-553: Was the state's first conservation burial ground. The 93-acre preserve is protected in partnership with local nonprofit conservation organization, Alachua Conservation Trust. The space is actively managed and being restored to diverse prairie and hardwood forest. Maine: Cedar Brook Burial Ground in Limington, Maine, the first green cemetery in Maine, is located on a 150-acre tree farm thirty miles due west of Portland. Within its borders sits

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