How to Cope with a Home Funeral

Home funeral guides report that home health care helps with the grieving process. But that doesn’t mean that it is necessarily easy.

You will definitely want the physical and moral support of family and friends. If possible, you may want to use the services of an experienced home health care guide. Start with the Home Funeral Directory and ask for a referral if no guide is immediately apparent in your area.

You will greatly benefit from having a team to help you: physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Be sure that the team members understand what is involved and are committed. If possible, attend a training session offered by home funeral advocates. Plan to attend in advance with at least some other team members. Also, you may want to consider appointing someone as the team lead to drive and coordinate activities. It may be you, another team member or a professional home funeral guide (death midwife).

Participation in the actual home funeral events may bring peace, distress or both. All reactions are normal. But to aid the transition, it may help to have photos of the loved one in life. It may help with the realization that the individual lives now in hearts and minds, not in the physical shell left behind.

Lisa S.
August 23, 2010