Cities of the Dead
New Orleans is known worldwide for its graveyards. Crescent City’s gothic mystique imbues its cemeteries with a seductive draw, and who doesn’t like a little atmosphere? If you’re...
The History and Purpose of Mausoleums
What’s the purpose behind mausoleums? In some locations they appear to serve a practical function, such as where a high water table makes ground burial impossible. But mausoleums...
Why Do People Believe in Ghosts?
I began this article, as is my custom, by reading about my subject – in this case, belief in ghosts. Research is where the magic begins, but it’s...
Is Crying Good for You?
It’s more or less commonly held that crying is supposed to be a good thing, whether as a stress reliever or because it actually purges the body of...
A Brief History of Headstones
It’s that time of year! “Graveyards” are popping up in neighborhoods and front yards all across this great land: tombstones askew, phalanges and femurs poking up through the...
Your Future Client, Planning Her Own Funeral Party
I’ve been writing on deathcare matters from a layperson’s perspective for a while now. I’ve delved into graphic, unsavory aspects including trauma and decomposition and the actual biological...
Miscarriage and Death Care Part Two: Unique Needs of Families
Circumstances – social and psychological – being what they are, handling matters for families who are navigating loss of this sort may place new demands on deathcare professionals....
Miscarriages and Death Care Part One: Practical Matters
26% of all pregnancies will end in miscarriage. In the US alone, that’s at least 500,000 naturally lost pregnancies every year. A lot of parents experience such lost...
Radiation Exposure in Deathcare
When imagining a scenario which includes radioactive human remains, you probably aren’t envisioning much in the way of deathcare – the topic carries a kind of Armageddon-ish feeling...
Rewired by Loss: Grief Is Essentially a Brain Injury
That’s right – a brain injury. A number of scientific studies reveal that an emotional disturbance, such as that caused by the experience of grieving a loved one,...