Virginia Funeral Resources & Education
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Books, Articles, Organizations

Where to Learn More

​The rise in do-it-yourself home funerals and green burial has spurred the formation of organizations that have developed materials to help educate the public and professionals whose roles in funeral service are changing. The media has also increased its coverage in newspapers, TV reporting, and magazines, both in print and online. Each organization's websites list resource pages with extensive links to these home funeral articles, videos, and podcasts.

On This Page

  • Books about being with the dying, home funeral, ceremony, and natural burial
  • Articles, videos, podcasts
  • Links to information from leading nonprofit organizations

Books

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Articles

2023
Options for Green Burial Grow in Chesapeake Region by Whitney Pipkin, Bay Journal, January 22, 23
​How Hospices Can Support Families Seeking Green Burials by Holly Vossel, Hospice News, January 4, 2023

2022
Maryland's first Green Cemetery to Open in Windsor by Christina Cordon, Baltimore Sun, November 29, 2022

2021
Maryland Family Seeks to Turn Property Into a New Green Graveyard in Baltimore County by Taylor DeVille, Washington Post, November 7, 2021
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Montgomery County's First Fully Green Cemetery Makes its Way Through Development Process by Kolbie Satterfield, WUSA9, July 98, 2021​
How to Hold a Funeral at Home by Christina Leimer, BeSide, April 29, 2021
Green Burial Wants to Clean Up American Funerals by Jake Maynard, Slate, February 5, 2021
​A Brush with Death: Interview of Amy Cunningham of Fitting Tribute Funeral Service, NFDA, April 13, 2021
Put Me in a Wooden Box by Nick Wooten, Associated Press/The Ledger Enquirer, April 24, 2021
What It's Like to Have a Funeral at Home by Christina Leimer, NextAvenue, March 24, 2021
Forest Burial and What it Means, a webinar with Mel Bennett of The Life Forest, a cremation cemetery in Hillsborough, NH, Reimagining the End, February 19, 2021
7 Elements of African American Mourning Practices & Burial Traditions by Dr. Kami Fletcher, TalkDeath.com, February 8, 2021
​Pearls of Wisdom, a video about home funeral guides, by Andrika Donovan
People Who Love the Land Are Getting Interested in Green Burials by Amanda Gokee, VTDigger, January 10, 2021
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2020
Home Funerals, Green Burials
, A Windham County Story video by Andrika Donovan
The Movement to Bring Death Closer by Maggie Jones, The New York Times, December 19, 2020, audio version
Interest Grows for Green Burials in New Hampshire by Tat Bellamy-Walker, New Hampshire Public Radio, November 16, 2020
How Death Doulas Have Adapted End-of-Life Care Amid COVID-19 (includes discussion of the role of doulas in helping clients to navigate racism in the healthcare system) by Ilana Kaplan, Vogue, July 30, 2020
​How We Manage Death is Changing Fast by Lisa De Bode, Vice, June 16, 2020
​This is What Happens to Unclaimed Bodies in America TalkDeath, June 30, 2020
How do you foster ‘a good death in a racist society’? by Chace Beech, Los Angeles Times, June 25, 2020
Brooklyn Neighbors Come Together to Bury a Stranger by Julie Walker, AP News, May 1, 2020
Is Death Really “The Great Equalizer?” African American Deathways and Inequality in America Interview with Dr. Kami Fletcher, Seven Ponds, May 2020
The ‘green death’ movement: Scientific advances give more eco-friendly funeral options by Emily Gillespie, Fortune Magazine, April 9, 2020 
More Catholics choose green burials, hoping for a lighter footprint by Valerie Zehl, US Catholic Magazine, April 21, 2020
What is a Home Funeral” How to Care for Sick or Deceased Loved Ones at Home During Coronavirus Pandemic by Khaleda Rahman, Newsweek.com, March 26, 2020 with the video prepared by Lee Webster
It takes Less Than 30 Days to Compost a Human Body by Jef Akst, The Scientist, February 17, 2020
​
The iPhone at the Deathbed, by Penelope Green, The New York Times, February 18, 2020
Home Funerals and Green Burials, group think in Windham County, VT, a film by Andrika Donovan, January, 2020
​"Mushroom Burial Suit" Called Into Question by Diane Ionescu, Connecting Directors, February 10, 2020
The Emotional Wallop of My Friend’s Green Burial by Janet Siroto, NextAvenue, January 30, 2020

Organizations

Funeral Consumers Alliance provides information on creative ways to respectfully care for the dead without going into debt.
National Home Funeral Alliance empowers families to care for their own dead through education.
National End-of Life Doula Alliance inspires positive, creative change in American death practices by creating high standards, ethical and practical guidelines, and rich networking opportunities for all EOLDs, resulting in meaningful experiences for the dying, their caregivers, and the agencies involved.
Blue Ridge Green Burial seeks to be model for sustainable land conservation, community buildings and green burial in Southwest Virginia.
Green Burial Council inspires and advocates for environmentally sustainable, natural death care through education and certification.
Conservation Burial Alliance educates and advocates for land protection while creating opportunities for sustainable burial practices within community.
The Collective for Radical Death Studies is an international, professional organization formed to decolonize Death Studies and radicalize death practice.
Celebrant Institute and Foundation pioneers the widespread use of relevant, customized ceremonies to honor the fullness of the human experience.

Learn how to

Perform Body Care
Complete Paperwork
Arrange Disposition
Transport the Dead
Create Ceremony
Go Out Greener
Work with Professionals
​Pay For a Funeral

Learn about

How to Get Help
Virginia Funeral Law
Professional Education
Community Education
Home Funeral Resources
FAQs
​Glossary of Terms
Stories
 (coming soon)
​
About

virginia funeral resources & education

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Virginia Funeral Resources and Education is a non-commercial public interest site dedicated to helping Virginia consumers care for their own dead with or without the assistance of a funeral director. All rights reserved  © FuneralPartnership.org
Landscape photos courtesy of Kara Ardron, Kate Knott, and Matthew Burke. Find photo credits here.
Website design Lee Webster, SideEffects Publishing
  • Home
  • How To
    • Find Help Now
    • Learn the Law
    • Have a Home Funeral
    • Perform Body Care >
      • Cooling Techniques
    • Complete Paperwork
    • Arrange Disposition
    • Transport the Dead
    • Create Ceremony
    • Go Out Greener
    • Pay for a Funeral
    • Work with Professionals
  • Learn More
    • Resources for Professionals
    • Tools for Community Education
    • Books, Articles, Organizations
    • Glossary
    • Sample Forms
    • Special Circumstances >
      • Guidance for Care at Home
      • Practical Guidelines
      • Ceremony Resources
  • FAQs
  • Contact Us