Reading, when you have the time

Five books on grief that readers and bereavement counsellors return to: Didion, C.S. Lewis, Kübler-Ross and Kessler, and two more, with a note on each.

Famadihana, the Malagasy turning of the bones: what the ceremony is, why the Merina people keep it, the family tomb, the silk and the dancing, and the beliefs.

Alternatives to burial in the UK: natural burial, burial at sea, water cremation, human composting and more. What each is, which exist, and the cost.

Ten films about grief and loss, from Manchester by the Sea to Up: what each one gets right about bereavement, and which one to watch on which kind of evening.

Tibetan funeral traditions: what a sky burial is and why it is practised, the Buddhist teaching behind it, the rites around it, and Tibet's other funerals.

Eco-friendly funerals in the UK: natural burial grounds, biodegradable coffins, avoiding embalming, cremation's footprint, and what actually reduces the impact.

Día de los Muertos, the Mexican Day of the Dead: what it is, its Aztec and Catholic roots, the ofrenda, marigolds and sugar skulls, and why joy shares the day.

A short history of cremation in the UK: the 1884 Price case, the first crematorium at Woking, the Cremation Act 1902, the churches, and direct cremation.

Funeral traditions in Asia: Hindu cremation and the Ganges, Chinese funerals and ancestor veneration, the Korean jesa, and the beliefs about rebirth.

Funeral traditions in Africa: the Ghanaian funeral and its fantasy coffins, Egyptian burial from the pharaohs to Islam, and the beliefs about ancestors.

Ten quotes about grief and loss for a card, an order of service or a hard evening, each with a short note on what it means and why people return to it.