The Big Exit: The Surprisingly Urgent Challenge of Handling the Remains of a Billion Boomers
By Ian Sutton. Toronto: Sutherland House, 2023. 217 pages
One of Ottawa’s funeral homes advertises that “66% of Canadian families haven’t discussed their final wishes”1. And, with the aging of the largest generation in history - the Baby Boomers – it is predicted that burial practices will change to meet the needs of these change agents to 2040.
The author of this practical, accessible resource for end of life decisions is a Canadian journalist, Ian Sutton. He has done his homework to compile a survey of data and experience from many nations, including the U.S.A, the U.K., Canada, the Netherlands and Australia.
End of life decisions are, not surprisingly, influenced by the larger issues which face the planet and the global community. At present, these issues are: the cost of living and dying; the effect of burial on the environment; the lack of space in traditional cemeteries; and the religious, cultural and social traditions which inform family life in our multicultural societies.
Like other large enterprises, the death-care business is local, national and international. It is shaped by national, provincial/state and local regulations and international associations. For example, The Cremation Society of North America (CANA) has both Canadian and American members, which work within their legislative and regulatory boundaries. Over the last couple of decades, CANA has broadened its definition of cremation to include processes of reducing human remains to bone fragments that use any “mechanical and/or thermal or other dissolution process”. These processes include fire and water. 2. The environmental impact is not negligible but the cost is lower than other forms of burial.
The author sets out the challenges for all of us in facing our end of life in simple language and chapter by chapter presentations of our choices. One of the most personal choices was made by the internationally recognized Desmond Tutu of South Africa, who not only stood against the apartheid regime in his own nation, but also earned the Nobel Prize for Peace in defending the rights of all human beings. He chose alkaline hydrolysis which is also known as Aquamation or Resomation.3.
Some of the less recognized methods of dealing with physical remains are the following:
Green burial with biodegradable caskets or shrouds and fewer extras associated with traditional burials. The mushroom solution has been advanced in the Netherlands;
Composting; reef ball burials; underwater columbarium; and body farms. Promession which freeze dries the body in nitrogen and crushes the remains in a compression vibration module is unproven.
Many recommend that we give our bodies or vital parts to science except in cases where communicable diseases like COVID are involved. Many of our universities and research institutes welcome a donation and work together to save lives and to learn. However, there are misuses of this possibility although Canadian examples are not as plentiful as American experience because we do have a public health system. No Canadian is denied the dignity of a funeral. 4.
In each of the choices examined in this resource, the accompanying financial, environmental and social effects are made public so that more Canadians can in fact prepare and discuss their needs and desires with family and trained personnel in a transparent and reassuring environment. Examples of both good and bad practice as well as notes and an index encourage reflection and thoughtful discussion.
This book can be purchased at your favourite bookstore or on line
Notes:
- Kelly Funeral Homes, by Arbor Memorial. Crosstalk, September 2022, p. 18.
- Cremation Society of North America (CANA), p. 75-77.
- Reverend Tutu’s Choice. P. 69 -71.
- Chapters 7-12
Written by Gwynneth Evans
FCO Board Member, August 2023