Going Out Green : One Man's Adventure Planning His Natural Burial

by Butz, Bob

• ISBN13: 9780981870816
• ISBN10: 0981870813
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-05-21
• Publisher: Spirituality & Health Books

Summary

Through memoir, boots on the ground research, conversations with his wife, and a serious degree of levity, Butz considers the options for his final act on Earth. In chapters like, "Wherein a memory of worms offers a glimpse into the future," and "Wherein the spirit of a natural burial is compromised by people looking to make a buck," Butz thinks about the unthinkable, and tells it like he finds it: . What happens to our body when we die? . Is six-feet-under enough? . What about grave robbers? Includes background on the growing movement toward natural burial preserves and cemeteries in the U.S. and Canada, as well as source information and a bibliography.

Table of Contents

The First Week Wherein the adventure of planning a green burial begins	p. 1
The Second Week Wherein a memory of worms offers a glimpse into the future	p. 11
The Third Week Wherein the color of death is revealed, meat is made, bones are scattered and vultures carry the spirit to heaven	p. 18
The Fourth Week Wherein the spirit of a natural burial is compromised by people looking to make a buck	p. 29
The Fifth Week Wherein the real lesson of Edward Abbey's burial is learned	p. 39
The Sixth Week Wherein plans are again altered and the meaning of a green burial preserve is explored	p. 47
The Seventh Week Wherein bubbling blisters are broken, dirt flies and a big friggin' hole is formed	p. 65
The Eighth Week Wherein a family's obligation to a deceased loved one is questioned and the work of a death midwife is briefly explored	p. 81
The Ninth Week Wherein the question of where to buy dry ice is answered and more on the art of a death midwife is learned	p. 93
The Tenth Week Wherein issues of privacy thwart efforts to observe the embalming of an actual human cadaver	p. 103
The Eleventh Week Wherein a state adopts legal amendments that rob families of rights and money by allowing the funeral industry to hold a loved one's body for ransom	p. 113
The Twelfth Week Wherein a search for meaning ends in a place where there is none	p. 123
Suggested Reading	p. 133
Suggested Viewing	p. 135
Green Burial Advocacy and Resources	p. 135
Earth-Friendly Caskets and Coffins	p. 137
Burials Shrouds	p. 139
Natural Burial Preserves in America	p. 139
Home Funerals	p. 141
Funeral Alternatives	p. 146
Death Midwifery Classes and Seminars	p. 146
Finding a Death Midwife	p. 147
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.