#hisandhearsepress — Public Fediverse posts

#MondayMourning: Louise the Unfortunate

No one knows Louise's real story. Legend has it that she traveled to Natchez sometime after the Civil War in search of her fiancé. For reasons unknown, she found herself stranded and husbandless.

Too proud to return home, she became a seamstress, maid, then "woman of the night." After dying in her mid-20s, a mysterious benefactor paid for her funeral and this headstone, more than what most paupers received.

#HisAndHearsePress #Cemetery #Monument #Memorial #Gravestone #Headstone #ReconstructionEra #Natchez #Louise #LouiseTheUnfortunate #Epitaph #WomenOfTheNight

Follow me for more funeral hacks 👍🏻

(but seriously, I can help you think of ways to personalize funeral services)

#HisAndHearsePress #Funeral #FuneralService #Mortuary #MortuaryScience #DeathPositive #CelebrationOfLife #Pinata #Bees

#WordyWednesday: Bleb

(used in a mortuary context)

A blister on a dead body, filled with stinky liquid, which usually turns into an area of skin slip (moist peeling skin) after it's been drained. Not fun at all.

#HisAndHearsePress #Embalming #Embalmer #DeadBody #MortuaryScience #Bleb #Blister #Gross #Ew #Stinky #Vocabulary #WordOfTheDay

#WordyWednesday: Bleb

(used in a mortuary context)

A blister on a dead body, filled with stinky liquid, which usually turns into an area of skin slip (moist peeling skin) after it's been drained. Not fun at all.

#HisAndHearsePress #Embalming #Embalmer #DeadBody #MortuaryScience #Bleb #Blister #Gross #Ew #Stinky #Vocabulary #WordOfTheDay

#WordyWednesday: Bleb

(used in a mortuary context)

A blister on a dead body, filled with stinky liquid, which usually turns into an area of skin slip (moist peeling skin) after it's been drained. Not fun at all.

#HisAndHearsePress #Embalming #Embalmer #DeadBody #MortuaryScience #Bleb #Blister #Gross #Ew #Stinky #Vocabulary #WordOfTheDay

#WordyWednesday: Bleb

(used in a mortuary context)

A blister on a dead body, filled with stinky liquid, which usually turns into an area of skin slip (moist peeling skin) after it's been drained. Not fun at all.

#HisAndHearsePress #Embalming #Embalmer #DeadBody #MortuaryScience #Bleb #Blister #Gross #Ew #Stinky #Vocabulary #WordOfTheDay

#WordyWednesday: Bleb

(used in a mortuary context)

A blister on a dead body, filled with stinky liquid, which usually turns into an area of skin slip (moist peeling skin) after it's been drained. Not fun at all.

#HisAndHearsePress #Embalming #Embalmer #DeadBody #MortuaryScience #Bleb #Blister #Gross #Ew #Stinky #Vocabulary #WordOfTheDay

As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death.

- Leonardo DaVinci

#HisAndHearsePress #Quote #QuoteOfTheDay #DeathPositive #LeonardoDaVinci #Cemetery #Funeral

#MondayMourning: It’s YOUR Grief

Grief is a very individual experience. There are so many factors that affect it, like your personality, support network, beliefs, previous losses, and the security you feel in other aspects of your life (financial, housing, relationships, work).

Don't use the grief experiences of others as a gauge for your own. Grieve in the way that feels comfortable to you, and don't worry if others think you're doing it too much or too little.

#HisAndHearsePress #Grief #Mourning #GriefAndLoss #GriefSupport #GrieveYourWay

It’s July 5th! Do you know what that means???
It’s basically Halloween now! 🎃

#HisAndHearsePress #July5th #ItsPracticallyHalloween #HalloweenSeasonStartsNow #SpookySeason #Halloween #HalloweenCountdown #EverydayIsHalloween #Goth #AnatomicallyIncorrect #HalloweenDecor

Patriotic Passings: Did you know? Three of the founding fathers managed to die *on* the 4th of July! 🇺🇸

Thomas Jefferson - 1826
John Adams - 1826
James Monroe - 1831

#HisAndHearsePress #4thOfJuly #BornOnThe4thOfJuly #DiedOnThe4thOfJuly #IndependenceDay #FoundingFathers #USA #PatrioticAF #ThomasJefferson #JohnAdams #JamesMonroe #DeadPresidents

Happy 4th of July! Do your local mortician a favor and party responsibly. We can wait.

Fun fact: Uber surge pricing is cheaper than a funeral. Make plans to avoid driving drunk.

#HisAndHearsePress #Happy4thOfJuly #4thOfJuly #IndependenceDay #USA #Freedom #RedWhiteAndBlue #FireworksSafety #DrunkDriving #DontDrinkAndDrive #BuzzedDrivingIsDrunkDriving #PartyResponsibly

What soap is for the body,
Tears are for the soul

- Jewish Proverb

#HisAndHearsePress #Proverb #JewishProverbs #Quotes #Grief #GriefQuotes #GriefAndLoss #Mourning #HaveAGoodCry #CryingIsHealing #DeathPositive

Well… they’re *not* wrong 🤷🏻‍♀️

#HisAndHearsePress #Cemetery #Headstone #Gravestone #IncorrectSignage #Funeral #Mortuary #PainStopsHere #TheyreNotWrong #DeathPositive #StandingStoneSunday

📸: Kayla Faustus or…?

#FuneralFactFriday: Hell Money

The colloquial name for a form of Joss paper (incense paper), printed to resemble legal tender bank notes.

Rooted in Asian culture, the fake currency is burned as an offering to the deceased in hopes of prosperity in the afterlife. Loose bundles are often placed inside caskets prior to cremation.

In this context, Hell represents the afterlife in general and does not have the unpleasant connotation that Western culture associates with it.

#HisAndHearsePress #FuneralCustoms #Funeral #MortuaryScience #Joss #JossPaper #HellMoney #HellBankNote #AsianTradition #Afterlife #Burial #Cremation #Incense #FunFacts

Don’t go to the funeral until the day of the funeral.
Live this day.

- Valerie Harper

#HisAndHearsePress #Quote #QuoteOfTheDay #LiveLife #ValerieHarper #QuotesToLiveBy #Funeral #Cemetery #InspirationalQuote #DeepThoughts #LiveYourBestLife

People: "I hope I go to heaven after I die"

Me: "I hope the most diverse little ecosystem grows from the soil of my decomposed body - just the coolest plants, fungi, little insects, birds, animals, microbes just thriving on my remains…”

Words: @wokescientist
Artist: @emossillustrates

#HisAndHearsePress #NaturalBurial #GreenBurial #HumanComposting #AlkalineHydrolysis #EcoFriendlyFuneral #DeathPositive #MortuaryScience #SustainableFuneral

#WordyWednesday: Ptomaine 💨🤢🤮

Pronounced: toe-MAIN.

The unholy gang of nitrogenous stink compounds responsible for the indescribable stench of decomposing bodies. Found in decaying vegetable and animal matter and formed by the action of putrefactive bacteria.

Includes cadaverine and putrescine (the smell of putrefying flesh or rotting fish), indole (smells like mothballs), and skatole (smells like poop).

Other chemical compounds produce smells akin to rotting cabbage, nasty garlic, and rotten eggs. Ptomaine was originally thought to cause food poisoning but has been disproven.

Raise your hand if you've had this smell cling to your nose hairs after a long day at work! Semi-related, death workers deserve a raise.

#HisAndHearsePress #Ptomaine #Decomposition #Cadaverine #Putrescine #Indole #Skatole #Putrefaction #Funeral #MortuaryScience #DeathCare #Embalming #Vocabulary #Stinky #Decomp

Not feeling like it’s a day to celebrate? It’s okay to be sad, angry, jealous, disappointed, or a mix of multiple emotions.

#HisAndHearsePress #FathersDay #Bittersweet #GriefAndLoss #MixedEmotions #FathersDayIsHard #UnhappyFathersDay

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, papas, uncles, grandpas, stepdads, adoptive dads, mentors, and father figures!

#HisAndHearsePress #FathersDay #HappyFathersDay #FatherFigures #Dad #Daddy #Papa #Uncle #Stepdad #AdoptiveDad

#MondayMourning: Wind Phone

An unconnected phone, sometimes in a booth, designed as a place to hold one-way conversations with lost loved ones. A notebook beside the phone allows visitors to write messages of remembrance.

The first public wind phone was created after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Otsuchi, Japan, and has been visited 30,000 times. Since then, replicas have appeared worldwide and enabled grieving people to reflect, connect, and speak their messages for the wind to carry.

What do you think? Would this be a helpful grief tool for you?

#HisAndHearsePress #Grief #GriefAndLoss #GriefSupport #GriefTools #WindPhone #Funeral #Memorial #Mourning #Bereavement

*Last Words: A Glossary for Death and Funerals* is available FREE on my website! This 80 page resource defines 460 words found in death care professions, including funeral lingo, embalming equipment, grief, religious customs, funeral options, and death/dying terminology. Perfect for:

Authors/writers, mortuary science students, apprentices, potential future morticians, medical/hospice caregivers, and curious people!

www.LouisePachella.com/glossary

#HisAndHearsePress #WritingCommunity #MortuaryScience #FutureMortician #HospiceNurse #FutureCorpse #WritersResource #VocabularyWords #Glossary #FreeDownload #MortuaryScienceStudent #MortuarySchool

Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.

- Norman Cousins

#HisAndHearsePress #Quote #QuotesToLiveBy #Funeral #Cemetery #NormanCousins #LifeAndDeath #AIart

🪦 Cemetery Saturday 💐
Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, Oahu, Hawaii

Fast facts:

- Founded in 1963
- 240 acres
- Wild peacocks and koi carp
- Zen garden
- Award winning Byodo-In Temple, a replica of a 900-year-old Buddhist temple in Japan that was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii
- The location has featured in episodes of Hawaii Five-O, Magnum P.I., Lost, seaQuest DSV, and the movie Pearl Harbor

I was prompted to share this magnificent cemetery after it was brought to my attention by an internet buddy (thanks Shyenne!) I'm thinking of making this a regular feature, bringing you a gorgeous cemetery with some fun facts every week or so. What do you think? Feel free to tell me about a location you've been amazed by and maybe I'll share it!

#HisAndHearsePress #CemeterySaturday #ValleyOfTheTemples #MemorialPark #Cemetery #Funeral #Hawaii #Oahu #Kaneohe #ByodoInTemple #FilmLocation #FastFacts

Look at my new treasure! I’m still looking into it, but it *might* be a 1949 Underwood Universal typewriter. Depending what’s involved, it’ll either be decor or a functional piece. Either way, my kids can’t wait to play Wednesday with it. 🖤

#HisAndHearsePress #Typewriter #Underwood #UnderwoodTypewriter #UnderwoodUniversal #OldSchool #WriterAesthetic #Vintage #Wednesday #WednesdayVibes

First of all, yes. Second, remember that these are *coffins* not *caskets*. Happy Caturday!

🐈‍⬛ 🐈‍⬛ 🐈‍⬛ 🐈‍⬛ 🐈‍⬛

#HisAndHearsePress #Caturday #CaturdayEveryDay #CatLover #CatsAreGodsAndTheyKnowIt #CatsRule #Coffin #Casket #CoffinNotCasket #Funeral #Burial #Pyramids #Meme

Come on down! 🪦

By the way, graves cost a lot more than you think. If you want to be buried someday, it’s worth looking into it now (while you can shop around and make payments) rather than waiting until it’s an urgent need.

Different cemeteries offer differ things. Some allow caskets to be stacked within a grave like eternal bunk beds. If you think you *might* want to do that to save space and money while keeping family together, it’s much easier to arrange when the FIRST occupant is buried. They dig the grave deeper to leave space for the second person above. If that isn’t done, then it’s a slightly more difficult and expensive process later (when Body 2 dies, Body 1 must be dug up, then the grave is dug deeper, then they replant Body 1 before the funeral for Body 2).

There are also options to consider, like mausoleum crypts, columbariums for urns, or urns buried above caskets in the ground.

When you buy your cemetery property, you don’t actually *own* the land. What you own is the right to bury in that space. Be sure to read the cemeteries rules and restrictions before purchasing. Then you won’t be surprised about what headstones they allow or what decorations are permitted.

Another thing! When you buy your cemetery property, there will be extra costs. Buying the grave doesn’t mean your funeral is taken care of. There are fees to open and close the grave and some cemeteries require the use of a vault (outer burial container). You need to pay for that AND a setting fee because they’re super heavy. Headstones, markers, vases etc are extra.

You’ll usually have to pay a fee called Endowment Care or Perpetual Care. That money is collected into a fund and the interest is used for cemetery maintenance after they’ve stopped making money.

It adds up! Do your homework NOW!

#HisAndHearsePress #Cemetery #Graveyard #Comic #JimShoenbill #SaleSaleSale #WackyWavingInflatableArmFlailingTubeMan #ComeOnDown #FridayFunny #GrimReaper #PreneedFuneralPlanning

Come on down! 🪦

By the way, graves cost a lot more than you think. If you want to be buried someday, it’s worth looking into it now (while you can shop around and make payments) rather than waiting until it’s an urgent need.

Different cemeteries offer differ things. Some allow caskets to be stacked within a grave like eternal bunk beds. If you think you *might* want to do that to save space and money while keeping family together, it’s much easier to arrange when the FIRST occupant is buried. They dig the grave deeper to leave space for the second person above. If that isn’t done, then it’s a slightly more difficult and expensive process later (when Body 2 dies, Body 1 must be dug up, then the grave is dug deeper, then they replant Body 1 before the funeral for Body 2).

There are also options to consider, like mausoleum crypts, columbariums for urns, or urns buried above caskets in the ground.

When you buy your cemetery property, you don’t actually *own* the land. What you own is the right to bury in that space. Be sure to read the cemeteries rules and restrictions before purchasing. Then you won’t be surprised about what headstones they allow or what decorations are permitted.

Another thing! When you buy your cemetery property, there will be extra costs. Buying the grave doesn’t mean your funeral is taken care of. There are fees to open and close the grave and some cemeteries require the use of a vault (outer burial container). You need to pay for that AND a setting fee because they’re super heavy. Headstones, markers, vases etc are extra.

You’ll usually have to pay a fee called Endowment Care or Perpetual Care. That money is collected into a fund and the interest is used for cemetery maintenance after they’ve stopped making money.

It adds up! Do your homework NOW!

#HisAndHearsePress #Cemetery #Graveyard #Comic #JimShoenbill #SaleSaleSale #WackyWavingInflatableArmFlailingTubeMan #ComeOnDown #FridayFunny #GrimReaper #PreneedFuneralPlanning

Come on down! 🪦

By the way, graves cost a lot more than you think. If you want to be buried someday, it’s worth looking into it now (while you can shop around and make payments) rather than waiting until it’s an urgent need.

Different cemeteries offer differ things. Some allow caskets to be stacked within a grave like eternal bunk beds. If you think you *might* want to do that to save space and money while keeping family together, it’s much easier to arrange when the FIRST occupant is buried. They dig the grave deeper to leave space for the second person above. If that isn’t done, then it’s a slightly more difficult and expensive process later (when Body 2 dies, Body 1 must be dug up, then the grave is dug deeper, then they replant Body 1 before the funeral for Body 2).

There are also options to consider, like mausoleum crypts, columbariums for urns, or urns buried above caskets in the ground.

When you buy your cemetery property, you don’t actually *own* the land. What you own is the right to bury in that space. Be sure to read the cemeteries rules and restrictions before purchasing. Then you won’t be surprised about what headstones they allow or what decorations are permitted.

Another thing! When you buy your cemetery property, there will be extra costs. Buying the grave doesn’t mean your funeral is taken care of. There are fees to open and close the grave and some cemeteries require the use of a vault (outer burial container). You need to pay for that AND a setting fee because they’re super heavy. Headstones, markers, vases etc are extra.

You’ll usually have to pay a fee called Endowment Care or Perpetual Care. That money is collected into a fund and the interest is used for cemetery maintenance after they’ve stopped making money.

It adds up! Do your homework NOW!

#HisAndHearsePress #Cemetery #Graveyard #Comic #JimShoenbill #SaleSaleSale #WackyWavingInflatableArmFlailingTubeMan #ComeOnDown #FridayFunny #GrimReaper #PreneedFuneralPlanning

Come on down! 🪦

By the way, graves cost a lot more than you think. If you want to be buried someday, it’s worth looking into it now (while you can shop around and make payments) rather than waiting until it’s an urgent need.

Different cemeteries offer differ things. Some allow caskets to be stacked within a grave like eternal bunk beds. If you think you *might* want to do that to save space and money while keeping family together, it’s much easier to arrange when the FIRST occupant is buried. They dig the grave deeper to leave space for the second person above. If that isn’t done, then it’s a slightly more difficult and expensive process later (when Body 2 dies, Body 1 must be dug up, then the grave is dug deeper, then they replant Body 1 before the funeral for Body 2).

There are also options to consider, like mausoleum crypts, columbariums for urns, or urns buried above caskets in the ground.

When you buy your cemetery property, you don’t actually *own* the land. What you own is the right to bury in that space. Be sure to read the cemeteries rules and restrictions before purchasing. Then you won’t be surprised about what headstones they allow or what decorations are permitted.

Another thing! When you buy your cemetery property, there will be extra costs. Buying the grave doesn’t mean your funeral is taken care of. There are fees to open and close the grave and some cemeteries require the use of a vault (outer burial container). You need to pay for that AND a setting fee because they’re super heavy. Headstones, markers, vases etc are extra.

You’ll usually have to pay a fee called Endowment Care or Perpetual Care. That money is collected into a fund and the interest is used for cemetery maintenance after they’ve stopped making money.

It adds up! Do your homework NOW!

#HisAndHearsePress #Cemetery #Graveyard #Comic #JimShoenbill #SaleSaleSale #WackyWavingInflatableArmFlailingTubeMan #ComeOnDown #FridayFunny #GrimReaper #PreneedFuneralPlanning

Come on down! 🪦

By the way, graves cost a lot more than you think. If you want to be buried someday, it’s worth looking into it now (while you can shop around and make payments) rather than waiting until it’s an urgent need.

Different cemeteries offer differ things. Some allow caskets to be stacked within a grave like eternal bunk beds. If you think you *might* want to do that to save space and money while keeping family together, it’s much easier to arrange when the FIRST occupant is buried. They dig the grave deeper to leave space for the second person above. If that isn’t done, then it’s a slightly more difficult and expensive process later (when Body 2 dies, Body 1 must be dug up, then the grave is dug deeper, then they replant Body 1 before the funeral for Body 2).

There are also options to consider, like mausoleum crypts, columbariums for urns, or urns buried above caskets in the ground.

When you buy your cemetery property, you don’t actually *own* the land. What you own is the right to bury in that space. Be sure to read the cemeteries rules and restrictions before purchasing. Then you won’t be surprised about what headstones they allow or what decorations are permitted.

Another thing! When you buy your cemetery property, there will be extra costs. Buying the grave doesn’t mean your funeral is taken care of. There are fees to open and close the grave and some cemeteries require the use of a vault (outer burial container). You need to pay for that AND a setting fee because they’re super heavy. Headstones, markers, vases etc are extra.

You’ll usually have to pay a fee called Endowment Care or Perpetual Care. That money is collected into a fund and the interest is used for cemetery maintenance after they’ve stopped making money.

It adds up! Do your homework NOW!

#HisAndHearsePress #Cemetery #Graveyard #Comic #JimShoenbill #SaleSaleSale #WackyWavingInflatableArmFlailingTubeMan #ComeOnDown #FridayFunny #GrimReaper #PreneedFuneralPlanning

#FuneralFactFriday: Joseph-Ignace Guillotin
Born May 28, 1738 (Saintes, France)
Died March 26 1814 (not executed)
Buried: Pere Lachaise Cemetery

Many assume that Monsieur Guillotin invented the guillotine. He did not!

He was actually a physician who OPPOSED the death penalty. Executions at that time were gruesome and prolonged: axes and swords (reserved for nobility) often took several blows, hanging (for commoners) relied on lengthy asphyxiation rather than instantly breaking the neck, and it was highly unpleasant to be boiled, dismembered, broken on a Catherine Wheel, or burned at the stake. His attempts to abolish capital punishment failed, so he instead proposed a more humane method: fast and painless decapitation by simple mechanism.

Guillotin wrote a six point proposal to encourage a fairer system (it also discouraged crowds from hungrily watching public executions by making them boring):

1) All punishments for the same class of crime shall be the same, regardless of the criminal (i.e., there would be no privilege for the nobility)

2) When the death sentence is applied, it will be by decapitation, carried out by a machine

3) The family of the guilty party will not suffer any legal discrimination

4) It will be illegal to anyone to reproach the guilty party's family about his/her punishment

5) The property of the convicted shall not be confiscated

6) The bodies of those executed shall be returned to the family if so requested

His proposals were accepted, becoming law in 1792. The beheading device was invented by the King's physician (Antoine Louis) and a German engineer (Tobias Schmidt). Use of the guillotine in France continued until its abolition in 1981, with the last execution having been performed in 1977.

A letter published in 1795 cast doubt on the effectiveness of the guillotine. It claimed that victims survived for several minutes after being beheaded, though the only evidence is anecdotal & not supported by medical science. Unfortunately, Guillotin suffered knowing that rumor & regretted sharing his name with the device.

#HisAndHearsePress #Guillotine #History #FrenchRevolution #Execution #CapitalPunishment #Beheading #FunFact

Mother’s Day isn’t a joyous occasion for all. It’s ok to be sad today, or a mix of conflicting emotions.

Here’s to those who have lost mothers or children, those who were unable to have children, those with complicated relationships with their mother or their children. 🥀 You’re all valid today.

#HisAndHearsePress #MothersDay #UnhappyMothersDay #Bittersweet #Grief #Loss #GriefAndLoss #Infertility #ChildLoss

To all the moms, mommies, mamas, adoptive moms, stepmoms, aunties, grandmas, fur moms, nurturers, and moms at heart - happy Mother’s Day 💐

#HisAndHearsePress #MothersDay #HappyMothersDay #Mom #Momma #Mommy #Mama #Stepmom #AdoptiveMom #Auntie #Grandma #Mother #FurMom #MomAtHeart

#WordyWednesday: Half Couch vs Full Couch Casket

Most American caskets are half couch. What does that mean?

A half couch casket has a two-piece lid. The top half opens to reveal the deceased’s face and torso while the lower half remains closed to conceal the legs.

These caskets open on the left (it’s just the industry standard, likely because we tend to approach the casket and touch the person with our right hand while turned slightly toward their face; it just works better this way). The inside of the foot end of the casket is often “unfinished,” meaning that it’s spartan rather than upholstered in pleated fabric. We can’t spontaneously decide to reverse a body in a casket, but we can custom order a casket built to open in the opposite direction (like if the right side of a person is too disfigured for viewing).

Note: even though YOU only see the top lid open, rest assured that WE can open both lids to get the body inside. Once the body is nicely tucked in, we close the lower lid.

A full couch casket has a one-piece lid to showcase the entire body, head to toe. They’re uncommon, typically only seen in certain parts of the country. Some include an inner leg covering and/or a foot pillow. Funeral directors must accommodate a few details differently: standard casket flower sprays can only be placed on top when it’s fully closed (or a long simple garland is draped along the hinge panel inside), and similarly, the flag cannot be draped unless the lid is fully closed. Half couch caskets allow flower sprays or a pleated flag to be draped over the closed foot panel during viewing.

Either way, please bring pants for your loved one. Whether we can see their legs or not, they ought to be properly dressed. Full couch caskets expose the feet too, which is rough for us when the feet are swollen. Putting shoes on is really hard! It’s also tricky to keep the feet together rather than splaying out (this is a better reason to tie shoelaces together rather than making the zombie apocalypse funnier).

Which would you prefer? Full or half couch?

#HisAndHearsePress #Casket #Coffin #FullCouch #HalfCouch #Funeral #MortuaryScience #Vocab #Vocabulary #Caskets

🖤🌶️ Spicy Book Recs!

Caveat: I am not typically a romance reader, but I took one for the team due to the nature of these books.

And wow. I was pleasantly surprised!

Megan Montgomery’s Last Responders series consists of Morgue To Love (focusing on a medical examiner and a homicide detective) and the soon-to-be-released Undertaking Love (featuring the medical examiner’s brother and her best friend, both of whom are morticians). There’s a third book in the works about their other bestie, a forensic anthropologist.

First… these are FULL stories with actual plots and great characters. They’re not just vehicles to get two characters together. Megan weaves in so many (ACCURATE) details about what it’s like to work in death care. I connected with so many of their experiences, from feeling called out as a rookie funeral director attending conferences in cheap suits to the extreme burnout of perfectly handling horrible situations day after day. Bonus: Megan adds in conversations about up and coming green funeral options like water cremation!

As I said before, I’m not romance reader. I didn’t mind these books at all though since there was plenty of other material to keep me enthralled. The hot and bother-y parts are indeed hot and bother-y, but they’re not eye rolling or weird. FYI the spice level is pretty high, and the second book strays into some very non-vanilla territory.

I received an advance copy of the second book so I could do some fact checking, but rest assured that I’m promoting these of my own free will. I thoroughly enjoyed these two books and am early awaiting the third!

⚰️ Morgue To Love
Medical Examiner + Homicide Detective
(these characters reminded me of the tv show Bones and includes neurodivergence)
Available now at https://amzn.to/3okC1R0

⚰️Undertaking Love
Rival funeral director/embalmers, enemies to lovers (Reminds me of Six Feet Under + 50 Shades. It touches on the personal struggles many morticians face, plus it features cool green funeral options.)
PREORDER for release on April 25 at https://amzn.to/3omXLvD

#HisAndHearsePress #MeganMontgomery #BookRecs #BookRecommendations #SpicyBooks #RomanceBooks #MortuaryScience

🦇 Hey all you bat fans! It’s International Bat Appreciation Day. Besides symbolizing death and rebirth, they also do us a solid by eating the worst creatures on earth (mosquitoes) and helping other pollinators like bees and butterflies. They’re not horrible! They’re vital for maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Plus they’re goth AF, in case that’s why you’re here. 🦇

#HisAndHearsePress #BatAppreciationDay #BatDay #Bats #BatsOfInstagram #BatFan #BatsAreCool #GothAF #DeathSymbol #DeathAndRebirth #DeathPositive

#MondayMourning: Workplace Grief

Do you spend more time with your coworkers than your own family? Sometimes we establish close bonds with our colleagues. At the very least, their mood and performance have a direct impact on our own. What happens when a coworker experiences a loss and throws the workplace into upheaval?

Here are a few things to consider.

- Don't judge the severity of a loss based on degree of kinship. As in, don't expect them to bounce back quickly because it was "just" a cousin or "just" a former spouse. You don't know how close they may have been or what responsibilities are now theirs.

- Family Leave and PTO are woefully insufficient for someone to handle the affairs AND recover from grief. Really, four days off is supposed to cut it? Grief experts recommend a MINIMUM of 20 days. Unfortunately some people are forced back to work way before they're ready, either because their time off is gone or their bills are piling up. They may have to pay out of pocket for funeral expenses or suddenly have their household income reduced by half.

- Adjust your expectations. Just because someone is physically present at work doesn't mean they're mentally present. Exhaustion, stress, the inability to focus, and a wide range of emotions will interfere with their performance. Obviously! They might hyper focus for a while to keep busy, only to break under the workload as their brain fog renders them useless. Coworkers should strive to understand that it isn't a personal failing, and that picking up the slack without resentment is the greatest kindness they can offer.

- Offer support while respecting privacy. Avoid empty offers ("if there's anything I can do, let me know") and empty platitudes ("I know how you feel... he's in a better place.") Instead of asking, "how are you doing?" ask "how is today?" Give them an opportunity to talk and just listen. Find out what they want you to say to others ("she had a loss in the family and will return calls next week.")

#HisAndHearsePress #Grief #Coworkers #Workplace #WorkplaceCulture #WorkFriends #WorkSpouse #FamilyLeave #WorkplaceGrief

#MondayMourning: Workplace Grief

Do you spend more time with your coworkers than your own family? Sometimes we establish close bonds with our colleagues. At the very least, their mood and performance have a direct impact on our own. What happens when a coworker experiences a loss and throws the workplace into upheaval?

Here are a few things to consider.

- Don't judge the severity of a loss based on degree of kinship. As in, don't expect them to bounce back quickly because it was "just" a cousin or "just" a former spouse. You don't know how close they may have been or what responsibilities are now theirs.

- Family Leave and PTO are woefully insufficient for someone to handle the affairs AND recover from grief. Really, four days off is supposed to cut it? Grief experts recommend a MINIMUM of 20 days. Unfortunately some people are forced back to work way before they're ready, either because their time off is gone or their bills are piling up. They may have to pay out of pocket for funeral expenses or suddenly have their household income reduced by half.

- Adjust your expectations. Just because someone is physically present at work doesn't mean they're mentally present. Exhaustion, stress, the inability to focus, and a wide range of emotions will interfere with their performance. Obviously! They might hyper focus for a while to keep busy, only to break under the workload as their brain fog renders them useless. Coworkers should strive to understand that it isn't a personal failing, and that picking up the slack without resentment is the greatest kindness they can offer.

- Offer support while respecting privacy. Avoid empty offers ("if there's anything I can do, let me know") and empty platitudes ("I know how you feel... he's in a better place.") Instead of asking, "how are you doing?" ask "how is today?" Give them an opportunity to talk and just listen. Find out what they want you to say to others ("she had a loss in the family and will return calls next week.")

#HisAndHearsePress #Grief #Coworkers #Workplace #WorkplaceCulture #WorkFriends #WorkSpouse #FamilyLeave #WorkplaceGrief

#MondayMourning: Workplace Grief

Do you spend more time with your coworkers than your own family? Sometimes we establish close bonds with our colleagues. At the very least, their mood and performance have a direct impact on our own. What happens when a coworker experiences a loss and throws the workplace into upheaval?

Here are a few things to consider.

- Don't judge the severity of a loss based on degree of kinship. As in, don't expect them to bounce back quickly because it was "just" a cousin or "just" a former spouse. You don't know how close they may have been or what responsibilities are now theirs.

- Family Leave and PTO are woefully insufficient for someone to handle the affairs AND recover from grief. Really, four days off is supposed to cut it? Grief experts recommend a MINIMUM of 20 days. Unfortunately some people are forced back to work way before they're ready, either because their time off is gone or their bills are piling up. They may have to pay out of pocket for funeral expenses or suddenly have their household income reduced by half.

- Adjust your expectations. Just because someone is physically present at work doesn't mean they're mentally present. Exhaustion, stress, the inability to focus, and a wide range of emotions will interfere with their performance. Obviously! They might hyper focus for a while to keep busy, only to break under the workload as their brain fog renders them useless. Coworkers should strive to understand that it isn't a personal failing, and that picking up the slack without resentment is the greatest kindness they can offer.

- Offer support while respecting privacy. Avoid empty offers ("if there's anything I can do, let me know") and empty platitudes ("I know how you feel... he's in a better place.") Instead of asking, "how are you doing?" ask "how is today?" Give them an opportunity to talk and just listen. Find out what they want you to say to others ("she had a loss in the family and will return calls next week.")

#HisAndHearsePress #Grief #Coworkers #Workplace #WorkplaceCulture #WorkFriends #WorkSpouse #FamilyLeave #WorkplaceGrief

#MondayMourning: Workplace Grief

Do you spend more time with your coworkers than your own family? Sometimes we establish close bonds with our colleagues. At the very least, their mood and performance have a direct impact on our own. What happens when a coworker experiences a loss and throws the workplace into upheaval?

Here are a few things to consider.

- Don't judge the severity of a loss based on degree of kinship. As in, don't expect them to bounce back quickly because it was "just" a cousin or "just" a former spouse. You don't know how close they may have been or what responsibilities are now theirs.

- Family Leave and PTO are woefully insufficient for someone to handle the affairs AND recover from grief. Really, four days off is supposed to cut it? Grief experts recommend a MINIMUM of 20 days. Unfortunately some people are forced back to work way before they're ready, either because their time off is gone or their bills are piling up. They may have to pay out of pocket for funeral expenses or suddenly have their household income reduced by half.

- Adjust your expectations. Just because someone is physically present at work doesn't mean they're mentally present. Exhaustion, stress, the inability to focus, and a wide range of emotions will interfere with their performance. Obviously! They might hyper focus for a while to keep busy, only to break under the workload as their brain fog renders them useless. Coworkers should strive to understand that it isn't a personal failing, and that picking up the slack without resentment is the greatest kindness they can offer.

- Offer support while respecting privacy. Avoid empty offers ("if there's anything I can do, let me know") and empty platitudes ("I know how you feel... he's in a better place.") Instead of asking, "how are you doing?" ask "how is today?" Give them an opportunity to talk and just listen. Find out what they want you to say to others ("she had a loss in the family and will return calls next week.")

#HisAndHearsePress #Grief #Coworkers #Workplace #WorkplaceCulture #WorkFriends #WorkSpouse #FamilyLeave #WorkplaceGrief

💀Help solve this mystery!

Twenty five years ago, a small cardboard box was found on the side of a road in Norcross, Georgia. It held the partial skeletal remains of two children.

A note on the box read, “attention police, my bones were legally exhumed from South Georgia, please return them to their proper repose.”

The Gwinnett County Medical Examiner analyzed the bones and determined them to belong to a baby around one year old and a teenager between 12-15 years old. Oddly, the two are not related to each other.

The box also contained fragments of casket hardware. They were dated to somewhere between the 1900s and 1940s, which is consistent with the age of the bones. The children were likely buried sometime within that period.

Unfortunately, they were unable to identify the children, so they’ve been kept at the ME’s office pending new information and technological advances.

That day may soon be here! Gwinnett County ME has partnered with Othman Labs to perform extensive genetic genealogy tests on the remains and establish family trees. Hopefully they’ll be able to identify relatives and discover someone who will name and claim these poor children.

Here’s where YOU come in.

There is little funding for pursuing cold cases like these. Gwinnett County ME has resorted to crowdfunding in order to pay the private lab for their supplies & research.

Are you able to contribute? Each child needs about $7500 raised to conduct the necessary investigations. Even a small amount donated gets them closer to being named & laid to rest.

If you’re unable to contribute financially, will you at least help spread the word? SHARE with folks in the funeral profession, true crime aficionados, supporters of children’s causes, or anyone else you think might be touched by this case.

Every body deserves a name.
Every body deserves to rest in peace.

Donate here:

https://dnasolves.com/articles/norcross-baby-doe-1987/

https://dnasolves.com/articles/norcross-teen-doe-1987/

News coverage:
https://bit.ly/43DqNas
https://bit.ly/3oj1iev

#HisAndHearsePress #DNASolves #Crowdfunding #ColdCase #TrueCrime #SkeletalRemains #Norcross #GwinnettCounty #MedicalExaminer #Forensics

Today is one of the least fun holidays, National Healthcare Decisions Day. Ugh, right?

Legal paperwork and healthcare jargon are boring and often unnecessarily complex. They also force us to consider circumstances that we’d rather not think about. It’s uncomfortable and depressing.

However . . .

Establishing your preferences NOW, plus recording them legally and discussing with them your family, will save your behind if you get hit by a truck tomorrow. You’ll get the treatments you want while avoiding confusion and second guessing among your next of kin. This is equally important whether you’re temporarily incapacitated or actively dying.

Do you want to be kept on life support? Until when?

Do you want comfort care?

Do you want a “do not resuscitate” order?

Are there any other treatments you’d decline?

Do you want to donate organs or tissue? Do you have any restrictions on what your donate?

Another important point: is your LEGAL NEXT OF KIN a jerk? You can assign these decision making powers to someone else who will respect your wishes. Doing this paperwork properly allows you to legally bypass dysfunctional family members in the next of kin chain.

Choose someone you trust to make decisions on your behalf if/when you are incapacitated or dead. It helps if they’re local to you, are capable of making decisions under stress, and are willing to advocate for you based on YOUR beliefs rather than theirs.

The same person (or different people) can be authorized to make financial and funeral decisions too.

Find out what the laws are in your state. There’s probably a cookie-cutter type form online (healthcare directive or medical power of attorney) which you can tweak to suit your needs. It you can afford it, get some basic legal advice to make sure you’ve covered all your bases.

I have some links and general info about protecting your end of life decisions here:
https://www.louisepachella.com/blog/rightsvsrites

Don’t wait until it’s too late!

#HisAndHearsePress #HealthcareDecisionsDay #NationalHealthcareDecisionsDay #ProtectYourRights #HealthcareDirective #MedicalPowerOfAttorney #PowerOfAttorney #DPOA #HealthcareAgent #Death #Funeral

Parlours are tricky places.
Might be ice cream, might be funerals.

- Sarah J@Trisarahjtops

#HisAndHearsePress #FuneralParlor #FuneralParlour #IceCreamParlor #IceCreamParlour #IceCream #YouScream #Funeral #Mortuary #SillySunday

National Titanic Remembrance Day 🚢🪦

It’s been 111 years since the Titanic sunk on April 15, 1912. Of the approximately 2240 passengers and crew on board, over 1500 died that day.

The White Star Line chartered four ships to help retrieve bodies of victims: the Mackay-Bennett, CS Minia, CGS Montmagny, and SS Algerine. They only managed to recover about 330 bodies, about 23% of the number who died.

The recovery ships were loaded with undertakers, embalming supplies, coffins, ice, canvas bags, and iron bars. First Class victims were embalmed and stored in coffins. Second and Third Class victims were embalmed (while they still had supplies), then wrapped in canvas. Crew members were put on ice. Some victims were misidentified as being from a higher class: in moments of desperation, they pillaged the abandoned First Class cabins for warm clothing.

Bodies that were unidentifiable, either from disfigurement or decomposition, were buried at sea in canvas shrouds weighted with iron bars. Others were buried at sea simply due to the shortage of embalming chemicals, as there were rules against bringing unembalmed bodies ashore (the rule was temporarily waived shortly after). Clergy conducted brief services for these unfortunates before casting them back into the water. Most were lower class or crew members, as the First Class were given preferential treatment. It was justified since they were “wealthy men with large estates to be settled.”

Of the 330 or so bodies recovered, 119 were buried at sea. The rest were taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The VIP bodies went to the local undertaker’s parlor. Everyone else went to the temporary morgue at the Mayflower Curling Rink. Bodies were embalmed in a screened area (a woman embalmed the deceased women and children), then placed on platforms for identification. One undertaker collapsed in shock as he discovered the body of his own uncle among the dead.

59 bodies were claimed by their families. 150 were buried in three Halifax cemeteries, including 42 who remain unidentified.

#HisAndHearsePress #Titanic #NationalTitanicRemembranceDay #Funeral #History #Embalming #DisasterManagement #MortuaryScience

#FuneralFactFriday: Full Body Casket Burial at Sea
🛥️ ⚰️ 💦

Did you know you don’t have to be cremated to get thrown in the ocean???

Full bodies can be buried at sea in caskets! It’s not limited to folks serving in the Navy or other military branches. Anyone can do it (not like Dexter, please hire a legit funeral director who knows how to do it properly).

There are a few requirements. If a casket is used, it needs to be stainless steel and have all the plastic inside removed. Twenty holes (2” diameter) are drilled through the casket to facilitate flooding and air venting. The casket must be secured shut with six durable stainless steel bands, chains, or natural fiber rope. Sand or concrete weights are added (no lead) to help the casket sink and stay put. Ultimately it’ll turn into a reef.

If a casket is not used, the EPA recommends a weighted biodegradable shroud. You may also toss flowers or floral wreaths into the water with the body, as long as all materials are decomposable.

A private boat is hired to take the casket, funeral director, and a few guests out to sea. They must travel at least 3 nautical miles from shore and release the casket into water a minimum of 600’ deep. If the boat regularly performs burials at sea, they might have a platform with rollers to get the casket out into the water with a push and a sploosh. A final yeet into the deep.

No special permission is required, short of filing standard paperwork like a death certificate and disposition permit. The EPA must be notified within 30 days. If it does happen to be performed by the military, there’s no family present to witness. It’s just handled on a regularly scheduled deployment.

Would you be interested in a full body burial at sea???

#HisAndHearsePress #FunFacts #FunFactFriday #Funeral #Burial #BurialAtSea #Ocean #Casket #DidYouKnow #MortuaryScience #FuneralService #FuneralDirector #Yeet

“Lest we forget,
a morgue is also a community center.”

- Ocean Vuong, Time Is a Mother

(From a DVAN book review: “In his sophomore poetry collection, Time is a Mother, Ocean Vuong meditates on how we think about death as individuals and as a community, and how we shoulder the weight of intergenerational trauma. Vuong reframes death and mourning as lonely processes into something communal.”)

#HisAndHearsePress #OceanVuong #TimeIsAMother #DVAN #Poetry #Quote #GriefQuotes #LiteraryQuotes #Grief #Funeral #Morgue #DeathPositive

“Lest we forget,
a morgue is also a community center.”

- Ocean Vuong, Time Is a Mother

(From a DVAN book review: “In his sophomore poetry collection, Time is a Mother, Ocean Vuong meditates on how we think about death as individuals and as a community, and how we shoulder the weight of intergenerational trauma. Vuong reframes death and mourning as lonely processes into something communal.”)

#HisAndHearsePress #OceanVuong #TimeIsAMother #DVAN #Poetry #Quote #GriefQuotes #LiteraryQuotes #Grief #Funeral #Morgue #DeathPositive

“Lest we forget,
a morgue is also a community center.”

- Ocean Vuong, Time Is a Mother

(From a DVAN book review: “In his sophomore poetry collection, Time is a Mother, Ocean Vuong meditates on how we think about death as individuals and as a community, and how we shoulder the weight of intergenerational trauma. Vuong reframes death and mourning as lonely processes into something communal.”)

#HisAndHearsePress #OceanVuong #TimeIsAMother #DVAN #Poetry #Quote #GriefQuotes #LiteraryQuotes #Grief #Funeral #Morgue #DeathPositive