By M. Kotch

Information desk

Many occasions in life call for expert advice; there are planners and professionals who can offer help with setting up events of all sorts. However, unlike with other gatherings, funerals aren’t synonymous with funeral-planners. The truth is many depend on funeral homes or places of worship to help with funeral planning.

But what if you’d like to find out more on your own—without being pressured into working with a certain parlor or group? For anyone who is interested in learning more about funeral planning in general, agnostic memorials or green burials, we’ve assembled this list of reading materials that may prove helpful during the difficult process of planning a funeral.

Funeral Costs and General Facts
For advice on how to minimize funeral costs, read:
“Rest in Peace: Insider’s Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral,” by R Brian Burkhardt.
To learn more about your rights as a consumer, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s funeral-facts page and read our breakdown of traditional funeral expenses.

Non-Religious Funerals and Services
For those interested in agnostic or non-religious services, read:
“Funerals Without God: A Practical Guide to Non-Religious Funerals,” by Jane Wynne Willson.
For more information, and to learn more about the rights of atheists when it comes to funerals and other matters, visit American Atheists at: http://www.atheists.org.

History of Modern Funerals
To learn more about the history of American funerals, read:
“Rest in Peace: A Cultural History of Death and the Funeral Home in Twentieth-Century America,” by Gary Laderman.

Unique Funerals and Celebrations
For ideas on how to plan a non-traditional funeral, read:
“Planning a Celebration of Life, A Simple Guide for Turning a Memorial Service into a Celebration of Life.”
Also read our top reasons to not have a traditional funeral.

Green Funerals and Natural Burials
To discover more about green funerals and natural burials read:
“Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial,” by Mark Harris.
Also read our helpful articles about reasons to have a green funeral, real vs. fake green burials, home burials and our breakdown of green funeral expenses.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 5:43 pm and is filed under Planning a funeral. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.