Step into Our Lives at the Funeral Home

Jo Michaelson, Dale Lund, Dale A Lund

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781351841597
• Subtopic: Mental Health in Psychology
• Index: Social Sciences

Many people are curious about what goes on behind the scenes at a funeral home. Add a live-in family to this scenario, and you'll Step Into Our Lives at the Funeral Home. Shh! Be quiet! There's someone at the door! Don't ever talk about anything you have seen or heard concerning someone's death outside the walls of our home. Mourning families need to know they can trust our integrity and our ability to keep confidentiality. For the author's family, these admonitions were ingrained in the children's minds at an early age. This book gives an insightful view of every facet of the funeral, from the time a death call is received until the funeral is completed. Stories of days in the ambulance business in conjunction with the funeral home are also related. The funeral director's role, the spouse's role, the children's role, and how the children thrived in an atmosphere of death are shared with the reader. How funeral directors cope with stress and how wives cope with their husbands during these times are revealed. Years later, following a tragic death, three people look back and share their stories of moving from despair to recovery. Interspersed through every chapter are stories and vignettes shared by many funeral directors throughout the Midwest, concerning the lifestyle for the family living in the funeral home and true incidents of specific funerals. Some stories are sad. Others are tragic. A few are humorous. Embracing faith, hope, and love is a primary requisite for healing. Intended audience: General readers of all ages, funeral home directors, hospice patients, mortuary students, and people who have had a loved one die by natural means or tragedy.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Prologue
• Chapter 1: In the Beginning
• Chapter 2: What Happens When Someone Dies
• Chapter 3: Visitations and Services
• Chapter 4: The Day of the Funeral
• Chapter 5: Grieving the Loss
• Chapter 6: The Pain of Suicide
• Chapter 7: Family Lifestyle
• Chapter 8: Funeral Director’s Role and Traits/Characteristics
• Chapter 9: A Spouse Remembers
• Chapter 10: How Our Children Thrived
• Chapter 11: Stress Takes Its Toll
• Chapter 12: Grown Children Recall the Past
• Chapter 13: Looking Back
• Conclusion
• Epilogue
• Glossary
• Appendix A—Sample Obituary Outline
• Appendix B—Helpful Information for Family to Know
• References
• Additional Resources
• Index