A Path Home

On this episode we hear about the sudden, unexpected death of a young man, Ruis Owin-Brown, and the way his community came together to create a farewell perfectly suited to Ruis' passion for friendship. His father Jeff Brown, and step-mother, Kate Adamson describe the logistical challenges and the healing rituals they experienced along the way.

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On this episode we hear from Marcia Klingzell and her daughters Stephanie and Cortnie who share the details of the beautiful send off they created for their dearly loved family matriarch, Dorothy. 

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On this episode we hear from Rita Cantu. With the help of a large and caring community that formed around her husband, Al Carr, during his dying time in 2004, Rita was supported in keeping his body at home and created a final send off unique to Al's playful personality. 

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On this episode, NHFA President, Dani LaVoire talks with her family about the home funeral they all created for her grandmother, Sherryl Schwartz Morantz in New York State. New York is one of the states with laws limiting family's rights to having full independence in carrying out a funeral for a loved one. Holding a home funeral is still legal in New York, but a licensed funeral director must be hired to supervise the process. Visit the website of the NHFA for more information, or go to funeralethics.org for a comprehensive state by state list of funeral regulations.

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On this episode we’ll be hearing from Lauren and Christopher Akins. By letting love guide them, along with some practical information they found on line, Lauren and Chris bravely ventured into unfamiliar territory and held a home funeral for their beloved daughter, Nora Rose. Nora Rose died in the hospital while waiting on a liver transplant. She was 11 months old. Chris made a couple of moving videos of their family’s journey through this, a photo montage and a music compilation for Nora Rose. In honoring Nora’s journey, they are devoted to raising awareness about pediatric organ donation.

Lauren provided us with the following links if you would like to know more about Nora's journey.

Nora's Facebook Page: (Created to document her journey, we now use it to help promote organ donation awareness) https://www.facebook.com/norasbiliaryatresiajourney/?ref=bookmarks
Nora's obituary: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/kansascity/obituary.aspx?n=nora-rose-akins&pid=193346293
Home wake/viewing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EropmQXkzPg
Video of happy pictures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd30R9HZgsM
Sad/heartfelt video Chris made a few days before Nora went to Heaven: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0gY1EfwVQ4

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Today we hear from author, home funeral guide and green burial consultant, Lucinda Herring. Lucinda has worked at the cutting edge of the green funeral movement for more than twenty years, beginning with fulfilling a friend's request to care for her body at home. Lucinda is also an interfaith minister and a licensed funeral director in the state of Washington.

Lucinda's book Reimagining Death, Stories and Practical Wisdom for Home Funerals and Green Burials, was released in January, 2019. If you wish to support the author directly,  please purchase books from her website www.lucindaherring.com where you can pay via PayPal. Other options are to support your local independent bookstore or purchase online at https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/search/reimagining-death?q=Reimagining%20Death 

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On this podcast we’ll be focusing on reclaiming our innate right to care for our own loved ones at death in natural, and often, environmentally friendly ways. We’ll demystify the tasks related to after death care through hearing stories from people who have ventured into culturally unfamiliar territory and cared for their own deceased loved ones at home, chose a natural burial or both. In this introductory episode, host, Sarah Crews, will identify some of the terminology we'll be using in these conversations. A Path Home is a production of the National Home Funeral Alliance.

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