This book starts with 3 stories of how the death of family members was handled, which help us understand Carlson's perspective. The next chapter gives us a historical perspective on home funerals, letting us know that the current practices are of relatively recent origin, and that we can gain in emotional completion if we return to the traditional ways. Separate chapters detail cremation, embalming, cemeteries, and organ donations. The majority of the book (>220 pages) lists legal requirements & crematories in each of the 50 states. Carlson warns that some of this information may be outdated, especially since there are people advocating for legal reform. I compared my State with our statutes and found we no longer have the Statute she quoted--most of her other information was not identified by relevant law.
The Appendix tells how to fill out a death certificate, if you choose to do this rather than hiring a funeral director to do so.
Finally, the book has a glossary.
The best part is the suggestions for how neighbors and friends can best respond and help a family who has had a death.
This book was not as useful as Grave Matters by Mark Harris. I also noticed that both books use very similar descriptions of cremation and embalming. This makes me wonder how much Harris just quoted Carlson or how much he did his own research. ( )