The TakeAway
February 20, 2013

Death is painfully human, strangely ordinary, and universal. It causes us pain, it requires planning, and it requires final decisions. But here in America, in most cases, it doesn't require one thing: personally handling the dead. More often than not, we leave that to professionals.

But more and more often, Americans are deciding to do things differently. After death, but before the final goodbye, they are handling those final moments with their loved ones' bodies by themselves, with love and care in their own homes.

GUEST: Alice Forrester is one of those people. In 2011, her teenage son died unexpectedly and she chose to bring his body home and prepare it herself, for his final resting.

GUEST: Heather Massey works with the National Home Funeral Alliance, helping families prepare their loved ones for the final goodbye.

Listen to program audio (7:57) at The TakeAway

Confessions of a Funeral Director
February 20, 2013

It’s strange how professional practices can reverse themselves.

Traditionally, in America, funerals have been held in the “parlour” of the deceased’s home.  During the beginning decades of the twentieth century, the funeral business became more industrialized and funerals were moved to what we now call “Funeral Homes”, or “Funeral parlour.”  Recently, however, there seems to be an interesting trending back toward “home funerals.”

Read the full article at Confessions of a Funeral Director