Crafting Meaningful Funeral Rituals: A Practical Guide

Funerals are among the most important life events in Western society, and fashioning a personalized ceremony for yourself or for a loved one is often the most meaningful way to celebrate the life of the deceased. For those wanting non-religious or secular funeral ceremonies, this step-by-step guide begins by identifying what you want from the funeral and showing how you can make it happen.

With sections on society's views of mortality, our need for rituals and crafting the actual ceremony, this guide provides the tools and philosophy to understand, plan and tailor a funeral for individuals. Includes all the tools necessary for the creation of a ceremony, such as a Ritual Profiles, checklists, and many other handy resources.

Jeltje Gordon-Lennox is an author, psychotherapist, and founder of the Ashoka Association (Ashoka.ch), where she trains secular celebrants in the craft of secular ritualization. Jeltje lives in Switzerland.

Margaret Holloway was a Social Care Lead of the National End of Life Care Programme (NEoLCP) team, the NHS programme set up to implement the UK Department of Health's End of Life Care Strategy, which ran between 2008 and 2013. Margaret is also Professor of Social Work at the University of Hull, UK.