Pops Read a Book: THE AMERICAN WAY OF DEATH REVISITED

 Recent events made me pull out Jessica Mitford’s THE AMERICAN WAY OF DEATH REVISITED (Vintage Books, 2000) for a re-read (which I did with an incongruous bookmark).

Mitford’s groundbreaking 1963 exposé of the funeral industry and examination of how we as a culture deal with the passing of loved ones was revised in 1978, and updated again by the author shortly before her own death in 1996. Sadly, not much had changed since she first exposed the dubious ethics of a business whose very practices are designed to exploit grief and encourage excess.

Even before reading this book, I found the concepts of expensive, fancy (and open) caskets, embalming, and even burial to be bizarre, wasteful, and, frankly, not helpful. To me, funerals take despicable advantage of those responsible for the disposal of the departed, while the services themselves do not provide solace so much as a sledgehammer of grief and discomfort. Read this book and maybe you’ll join me in feeling that Walter and the Dude had the right idea when it came to taking care of Donny’s remains. At the very least, you’ll know what your rights are when the sad day comes when you have to make these terrible decisions.

Originally posted on social media, Oct. 10, 2023