Greening Death
Reclaiming Burial Practices and Restoring Our Tie to the Earth
By (author) Suzanne Kelly
Not available to order
Publication date:
01 September 2015Length of book:
240 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442241572
We once disposed of our dead in earth-friendly ways—no chemicals, biodegradable containers, dust to dust. But over the last 150 years death care has become a toxic, polluting, and alienating industry in the United States.
Today, people are slowly waking up to the possibility of more sustainable and less disaffecting death care, reclaiming old practices in new ways, in a new age. Greening Death traces the philosophical and historical backstory to this awakening, captures the passionate on-the-ground work of the Green Burial Movement, and explores the obstacles and other challenges getting in the way of more robust mobilization. As the movement lays claim to greener, simpler, and more cost-efficient practices, something even more promising is being offered up—a tangible way of restoring our relationship to nature.
Today, people are slowly waking up to the possibility of more sustainable and less disaffecting death care, reclaiming old practices in new ways, in a new age. Greening Death traces the philosophical and historical backstory to this awakening, captures the passionate on-the-ground work of the Green Burial Movement, and explores the obstacles and other challenges getting in the way of more robust mobilization. As the movement lays claim to greener, simpler, and more cost-efficient practices, something even more promising is being offered up—a tangible way of restoring our relationship to nature.
In these strange times, when we are rapidly running out of room and resources, most of us can agree that burying our loved ones is unsustainable. But what other options exist? Kelly lays out the possibility of burial practices that change our relationship to nature, respect the earth, and honor decay as a form of interconnectedness. Linking burial practices to feminist theory, this beautifully written book belongs in the hands of everyone who seeks a better way to live and die.