Seven books about the expense of burial

Becky Robison (she/her) is a writer living in Louisville, Kentucky. A graduate of UNLV's Creative Writing MFA program, her work has appeared in Salon, Slate, Business Insider, and elsewhere. She’s also the mind behind My Parents Are Dead: What Now?—a project that aims to help people navigate the dizzying labyrinth of post-death bureaucracy based on her own experience.

Robison's new book is My Parents Are Dead: What Now? A Panic-Free Guide to the Practicalities of Death.

At Electric Lit the author tagged seven "books that show how the invisible hand of the market reaches far beyond the grave." One title on the list:

Too Poor to Die: The Hidden Realities of Dying in the Margins by Amy Shea

Forget about a funeral—what happens when a bereaved family can’t even afford to bury their dead? And what about deceased people who have no family to claim them? Through a combination of reporting and personal essays, Amy Shea—author and cofounder of the Equitable Disposition Alliance—uncovers the patchwork system U.S. municipalities have cobbled together to lay the indigent dead to rest. Some cities bury the unclaimed dead, while others cremate them. Some cities hold mass memorial services, while others dispose of the bodies without ceremony. By weaving her own experiences of death and working with unhoused populations into the narrative, Shea forces us to consider not only how we plan (or don’t plan) for our own demise, despite our comparative privileges, but also what we owe others in our community—during and after their lives. No spoilers, but you shouldn’t skip the index.

Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue