We Remain Incorrigible
Today is International Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day meant to memorialize and remember trans and gender non-conforming people whose lives have been taken by acts of anti-transgender bigotry and...
Election Results and LGBTQIA+ Deathcare
Uncertainty breeds confusion and discontent—this is what I have seen quite a bit of on social media in the last couple of days since the election results. The problem with...
Ghosted: The Cultural Apparitionality of Queer Death
“The main work of haunting is done by the living.”—Judith Richardson Spooky Season, Shocktober, Gay Christmas— call it what you will, Halloween has become a most sacred holiday to those...
Death Doulas: Who they are and why they are so important.
I recently attended the Deathcare Superconference and wanted to share some important information I learned with our Equal Deathcare Friends. The experts on the conference panels were law professors, death...
Coming Soon: Equal Deathcare Book
by Jennifer Wright-Berryman, PhD Dr. Staci Zavatarro from the University of Central Florida and I met like many people meet: at a funeral home. Okay, most people don’t meet at...
The Challenge of Finding Inclusive Deathcare Providers
Last Saturday I took our Equal Deathcare message to our local Pride festival. Our community is relatively small (a town of about 50k) and in the Midwest (hint, hint, Mike...
It’s Okay to Decay: A Treatise on Green Burial
Sunset in Joshua Tree National Park: the sky is painted with hues of purple, green, blue, red, and gold. A figure, snugly wrapped in an ivory-colored linen shroud, is slowly...
Equitable and Accessible Death Care for Sexual and Gender Minorities: A Policy Review and Case for Advanced Planning
by Jennifer Wright-Berryman, PhD Introduction Stories of employment, school, and healthcare discrimination against LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, plus) people are often highlighted in the media, establishing...
Are You My Mummy?
Almost every history museum across the globe has a mummy room. No matter the size, they often feature the same ostentatious golden trimmings and royal blue accents adorning faux plaster...
Meet Equal Deathcare Co-Founder Jennifer Wright-Berryman
Kat Vancil-Coleman and I just finished one of our regular Equal Deathcare coordinating meetings. One thing we discussed was our blogging/article writing schedule for the site. It occurred to me...
When the Music’s Over
Looking for a special song for your loved one’s funeral and coming up shorthanded? As someone who often oversees multiple funerals per day, I get it, we are all tired...
It’s YOUR Death, Do It YOUR Way
Your life means something, and so does your death. In some ways, your send-off is the final wave as the ship pulls away from its port of call. It’s the...
Let’s Talk About Death: Summer Reading List
I want to share with you some books I have found helpful in learning more about death care, death, and dying. This by no means is an exhaustive list, but...
Death Without Deadnames
On my journey to become a funeral director, I spent two hours a day, five days a week, commuting from my hometown of Dayton, Ohio to attend the Cincinnati College...
When Nothing is Sacred
Personalization is Key in Creating Secular Funeral Services Funeral services carry a weight like almost nothing else. They are inherently heavy things, steeped in tradition, which most people associate...
Why Funeral Service?
“Why would you want to do that?” “I guess it takes a special kind of person.” “Isn’t it depressing?” I often wonder if bankers, auto mechanics, librarians, or retail managers...