{"product_id":"grave-matters-a-journey-through-the-modern-funeral-industry-to-a-natural-way-of-burial-9781416564041","title":"Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn the morbidly fascinating tradition of \u003ci\u003eStiff\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGrave Matters\u003c\/i\u003e follows families who found in \"green\" burial a more natural, more economic, and ultimately more meaningful alternative to the tired and toxic send-off on offer at the local funeral parlor.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEschewing chemical embalming and fancy caskets, elaborate and costly funerals, the families followed in \u003ci\u003eGrave Matters\u003c\/i\u003e have embraced a range of natural options, new and old, that are redefining a better American way of death. Environmental journalist Mark Harris examines this new green burial underground, leading you into natural cemeteries and domestic graveyards, taking you aboard boats from which ashes and memorial \"reef balls\" are cast into the sea. He follows a family that conducts a home funeral, one that delivers a loved one to the crematory, and another that hires a carpenter to build a pine coffin. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Harris details the embalming process and the environmental aftermath of the standard funeral. He also traces the history of burial in America, from frontier cemeteries to the billion-dollar business it is today, reporting on real families who opted for more simple, natural returns. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e For readers who want to follow the examples of these families and, literally, give back from the grave, appendices detail everything you need to know, from exact costs and laws to natural burial providers and their contact information.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMark Harris\u003c\/b\u003e is a former environmental columnist with the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times Syndicate.\u003c\/i\u003e His articles and essays have appeared in the \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune, E\/The Environmental Magazine, Reader's Digest, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHope.\u003c\/i\u003e He lives with his family in Pennsylvania. Visit his website at www.gravematters.us\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Scribner Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50544424222994,"sku":"9781416564041","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_7308ea20-06be-48a2-918d-8206c204f00a.jpg?v=1731527862","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/grave-matters-a-journey-through-the-modern-funeral-industry-to-a-natural-way-of-burial-9781416564041","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}