Summary | Excerpt | Reviews | Beyond the Book | Readalikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Aug 2008, 272 pages
Paperback:
Aug 2009, 272 pages
Book Reviewed by:
Donna Chavez
Buy This Book
This article relates to Tethered
Post-Life Environmentalism
Clara has such a detached attitude toward the more clinical
aspects of her job as undertaker removing organs, sewing
the mouth shut, applying makeup that her description of
these tasks seems no different than a fishmonger discussing
the gutting and filleting of salmon. And MacKinnon includes
enough subtle hints as to the danger and toxicity of the
chemicals used in cadaver preparation that one might pause
before considering disposition of one's or a loved one's
-- earthly remains. Additionally, there is the casket to
think about and the fact that there may be more bodies to
bury in Clara's community cemetery than that plot of
hallowed ground can hold. It all leads one to ask, is this
really the best and most environmentally conscientious way
to handle post-life leavings?
In his book (published in paperback in December 2008)
Grave Matters: A Journey through the Modern Funeral
Industry to a Natural Way of Burial Mark
Harris follows the final resting place decisions of a number
of people who opted for a variety of alternative means of
dispatching their mortal vestiges. Harris, who is I believe
the son of an undertaker, is an environmental journalist who
advocates for green burial.
First, let me caution that his chapters on traditional
embalming and burial are not for the faint of heart. They
contain candidly graphic descriptions of the procedures from
beginning to steamy end, including the process of organic
decomposition and the leaching of toxic embalming chemicals
into the soil. Once past that, however, there follow a
number of interesting and environmentally sensitive choices,
some are pricey but many are cost-effective.
Cremation may be the most obvious and popular choice.
However, Harris points out that the smoke is a pollutant
too. So another option might be, say, a backyard burial. In
several states, it turns out, there is no law preventing
burying a person's remains in one's own backyard. No casket
is required and only permission from the state, city or
county is necessary. Of course, it would be prudent to warn
a real estate agent before selling one's home that granny
has been laid to rest under the sugar maple. Some other,
more creative, means of cadaver disposition he discusses
include burial at sea, inclusion in a coral reef (my
favorite) and "natural burial," in a shroud placed in a
pre-dedicated state or privately-owned park. All options
that Harris describes include a list of costs, laws to be
aware of and resources.
Of course, one can always donate one's body, or parts
thereof, to science. Which, sad to say, brings its own set
of caveats. Accordingly, one might wish to read Annie
Cheney's
Body Brokers: Inside America's Underground Trade in Human
Remains before making that decision.
This "beyond the book article" relates to Tethered. It originally ran in August 2008 and has been updated for the
August 2009 paperback edition.
"Berlin's new book is a marvel, filled with deeply touching stories about lives on the fringes."—NPR
About the bookOrdinary Girls
by Jaquira Díaz
Reminiscent of Tara Westover's Educate and Roxane Gay's Hunger--a memoir that reads as electrically as a novel.
Reader Reviews
BUTTERFLY YELLOW
Winner of the BookBrowse Award for Best Young Adult Novel, and the overall highest rated book of the year!
Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free. Full access is for members only.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.