Ashes To Admin: Tales from the Caseload of a Council Funeral Officer

Product Information

In fact, the reassuring truth is that a Section 46 funeral may have fewer frills than other funerals, but it is still every bit as respectful and dignified. Had heard an interview on radio with Author that prompted me to get this book as ama Funeral Celebrant so useful to know this side of the stories - ie what happens when a deceased person has no-one. It is also testament to how far a stranger will go to show that each life is important and that we should all aim to live well. Evie works for her local council where she organises the funerals of those who have no family or whose family cannot afford to lay them to rest.

In your book you said "there are so many death certificates out there with my name on and giving my relationship to the deceased as "causing the body to be burned/buried". In this talk, Evie lifts the coffin lid on the world of a council funeral officer, a job that lurches from the legislative and administrative, via the workaday and practical, right through to the emotional and existential.

Every effort to admit latecomers will be made at a suitable break in the event, but admission cannot always be guaranteed. Thanks to Evie King an inspiring local council worker in charge of carrying out Section 46 funerals under the Public Health Act, these individuals’ lives are not forgotten (and other Council Funeral Officers of course!

This is a fascinating book full of wisdom, honesty, compassion and insights, a book that can make you both cry and smile. To ensure no one is alone when they're buried or cremated and to bring the dead to life so that we know them and their story.Reading Ashes to Admin encouraged me to fire off a whole host of questions to my Council's Bereavement Services Officer and I was very relieved to find out in response that, as in Evie's case, my local Council provides a celebrant and does their best to provide Section 46 funeral recipients with as many honoured wishes as possible. Her stories are sometimes tragic, as with the case of an unidentified woman found on a beach buried without even a name, but often uplifting and occasionally hilarious. This really jumped out at me, as I often feel that people focus on lifespan and not the value and quality of life we have.

Evie's memoir of a life spent organising what were until recently still known as 'pauper's funerals' is by turns hilarious and heartfelt. She does use a lot of English slang (never in a disrespectful way) and terms and names unfamiliar to most Americans, so you will find yourself consulting a dictionary and/or the Internet quite frequently. Evie is an Environmental Health worker, whose job is ensuring funerals are carried out where the funds aren't available either due to the family not being able to afford it, or indeed where no family exists. Evie King works for her local council and part of her job is to carry out funerals under Section 46. Imagine a life without the presence of family or friends; you sadly pass away alone and your life remains unrecognised, neglected as if never to be heard again.This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use.