Why this?

The Introduction; Burials, Books, and Mark Harris

What initially intrigued me was this book, Grave Matters. I think I had heard about it on Fresh Air, or my mother had, and the read it… Either way, it was good! Written by Mark Harris, Grave Matters describes, in nine concise chapters, the different ways of processing a body to bury it. Harris organizes these thoughts in order of least-to-most environmentally conscious, starting with Embalming, and finishing with a Natural Burial in Ramsey Creek, South Carolina.

This book, honestly, was an enlightenment to me. Though I had always considered donating my body to science, I was concerned with what happened to people’s bodies when they died. Did they get buried? Did they get cremated? And wasn’t all of that pretty expensive? And how far deep was the coffin anyways? Were ALL of them six feet deep?

Maybe I was just a morbid kid. On the other hand, I had yet to experience a funeral, so I was curious about what actually happened. After I read this book though, I discovered this hidden culture of burials. From the excessive toxicity of embalming, to the mystique of a Memorial Reef, I learned of the complexities of burying someone.

After re-reading the book multiple times, I came to understand that it was written from a pro-environment slant, something I agree with, though I nonetheless realized that I needed to educated myself more on the other burial methods as well. Because of this, and because there are so many more amazing sources out there, this blog will encompass everything about burials, from the history to the process to the finalized product.

Note: Please do not hesitate to comment, any thoughts/reactions/ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!