TOP STORIES
In
NYC, many ways to mourn 9/11 develop as the years pass – written by Denis
Hamill in the New York Daily News
An
interview with Caitlin Doughty about her new book “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and
other Lessons from the Crematory” via Laura Secorun Palet on Oxy
Funeral
home offers drive-through viewings – via Bob Johnson of the Saginaw News
DEATH
The
nightmare world of Iraq’s morgue workers – from Abigail Hauslohner at the
Washington Post
In the Guardian, David Crystal writes about euphemisms
and “a thousand words for death”
Ashya King case in Britain prompts: ‘We
must stop being cowardly about death,’ by Archie King in the Independent
‘Verbal
autopsies’ in India, a leader in underreported deaths, help determine mortality
causes, bolster public health – from Linda Geddes in New Scientist and
Slate
Don’t
die a celebrity – in Epoch Times, Zachary Stieber discusses the
re-evaluated 2009 death of actress Brittany Murphy, the bad TV movies that
result, and various forms of post-mortem litigious carnage
In
Japan, Shukatsu Festival allows aging consumers to shop for funeral fare –
by Richard Cazeau of Yahoo News
Red
Cross medical teams extract bodies, try to save lives amid Ebola havoc –
via AFP and the Times of India
Buddhist
monk promises to “meditate to death,” followed by coffin bursting into flame –
detractors say he’s a show-off – by Ted Thornhill for the Daily Mail
Digital Passing talks about how
to make plans for your digital records on your death
MOURNING
Via Quartz and the Atlantic, Gabrielle
Birkner of Modern Loss writes about differences in mourning, on 9/11 and now. And she quotes . . . me? Yes. Hope this doesn't reduce
the credibility of the story for you.
Can
you mourn without a body? asks David Andreatta of the Rochester, NY
Democrat & Chronicle
Mourning,
private and public – from Allison Hrabar in the Swarthmore Daily Gazette
CONFESSIONS OF A FUNERAL DIRECTOR
Caleb Wilde’s blog is turning out a great deal of important
and interesting writing on the topic at hand – here are some highlights from
this week alone:
Confessions of a Funeral Director presents: 10
Way to Save Money When You Die! That is, if you care.
Caleb Wilde of Confessions of Funeral Director tells a much
more affecting story about empathy,
sympathy, and becoming part of the narrative
FUNERALS
Inside
NYC’s “funeral home for the stars” – via Jerry Oppenheimer for the New York
Post
Van
crashes into funeral home, during funeral. Hijinks ensue – from WLWT-TV
Funeral
home ought not to have cremated Buddhist deceased – from Oren Yaniv at the
New York Daily News
Funeral
etiquette: what to wear? by Julie Kendrick at Kendrick Works
OBITS/TRIBUTES
Stephen Miller
of Bloomberg News has found a calling in writing about those who have died.
Here's his story! (Please note, he is a long-standing electronic friend of
mine; however, I think his skills are extraordinary.)