Emily Young talks to author Elizabeth Fournier about her new book The Green Burial Guidebook.
Funeral expenses in the United States average more than $10,000. And every year conventional funerals bury millions of tons of wood, concrete, and metals, as well as millions of gallons of carcinogenic embalming fluid. There is a better way, and Elizabeth Fournier, affectionately dubbed the “Green Reaper,” walks you through it, step-by-step. She provides comprehensive and compassionate guidance, covering everything from green burial planning and home funeral basics to legal guidelines and outside-the-box options, such as burials at sea. Fournier points the way to green burial practices that consider both the environmental well-being of the planet and the economic well-being of loved ones.
“Truly everything you need to plan a green sendoff. A lively, informative, and uplifting book.”
Mark Harris, Author of Grave Matters: A Journey through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial
“A straightforward handbook on more sustainable and meaningful death care in the U.S., and how to plan for it.”
Suzanne Kelly, Ph.D., Author of Greening Death: Reclaiming Burial Practices and Restoring Our Tie to the Earth
“Elizabeth Fournier’s Green Burial Guidebook will change the way you think about death. The book is an informative and consoling read, offering tips and tools that will endure throughout the years. Fournier speaks with such candor and kindness as if she were seated right beside us at our kitchen table. She teaches about the realities and sacred possibilities in green burial, offering a life-affirming guide for those who wish to have a deeper connection to the earth, to the natural processes of life and death, and to their beloveds.”
Lisa Smartt, Author of Words at the Threshold, Founder of the Final Words Project finalwordsproject.org
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