My Parents Are Dead: What Now?

HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY!! “My Parents Are Dead: What Now? A Panic-Free Guide to the Practicalities of Death” is officially out in the world. Grab it wherever books are sold! #books #deathpositive #outnow #estateplanning

Sad news, friends: Leah and I decided to cancel our Memento Mori Death Workshop due to low attendance. You'll be the first to know if we try it again in the future! And in the meantime, we hope you find your own special way to mark the Day of the Dead. #louisville #deathpositive

What happens if you inherit a haunted house? Do you have to disclose that information to potential buyers? Find out in tomorrow's Halloween edition of The Columbarium. Sign up: deadparentswhatnow.com/newsletter #newsletter #hauntedhouse #realestate #estateplanning #deathpositive #halloween

Living in Texas? Here are the legal methods of disposition in your state as of October 2026. #deathpositive #deatheducation #funeral #burial #cremation #aquamation #humancomposting #greenburial #texas

Want them to be *happy* to see your ghost? Get your affairs in order before you join the spirit realm. 👻 #halloween #ghosts #estateplanning #willsandtrusts #deathpositive

If you haven't been reading my free, weekly newsletter, The Columbarium, you've missed 100 editions of death and dying history plus practical advice about the same. Sign up: deadparentswhatnow.com/newsletter #newsletter #deathpositive #grief #funeral #cemetery #endoflifeplanning #estateplanning

Calling all Louisville bibliophiles! 📚 I'm going to be at the Louisville Book Festival this Saturday, October 24! Yes, I'll be signing copies of my book, but I'll also be giving a presentation at 3pm. Learn more: www.louisvillebookfestival.com #louisville #books #bookfestival #authors

Why wait until you’re dead? Living funerals are totally a thing! And if you’re near Louisville, you can join one that meditation teacher Leah Raidt and I are hosting on November 1! #deathpositive #funeral

The most horrifying part about this to me is that there's ways to do paperwork to prevent this, but poor people are not taught about it, we are not informed that we need to do this, rich people know all the paperwork secrets and they intentionally keep poor people from them

One of our goals when creating GraveSite was to make it a space for humor when reporting on death and the end of life. In our last HellFireside Chat, Becky Robison explains why humor has its place, and we hope this helps you feel seen, too. 🖤 @deadparentswhatnow.com #mementomori #deathpositive

Perpetual burial is as American as apple pie. In other countries, people temporarily rent graves. Learn more in tomorrow's edition of The Columbarium. Sign up: deadparentswhatnow.com/newsletter #deathpositive #newsletter #burial #funeral #cemetery #graveyard

Living in Tennessee? Here are the legal methods of disposition in your state as of October 2026. #deathpositive #deatheducation #funeral #burial #cremation #aquamation #humancomposting #greenburial #tennessee

Mississippi: not too keen on cremations. #mississippi #cremation #funeral #deathpositive #statistic

What are your Day of the Dead plans? Join me and meditation teacher Leah Raidt on 11/1 for a 2-hour workshop featuring a death meditation and living funeral ritual. Yes, we will be SHROUDING your bodies! (If you want—no pressure.) Register: leahraidtprivatecoach.as.me?appointmentT... #dayofthedead

Reduce, reuse, recycle…your local graveyard? Reusing graves is common in other countries, and with the increasing popularity of green burial, it could be even easier to do. What do you think? #deathpositive #cemetery #recycle

After finally drafting a will, writer Rose Maura Lorre took her end-of-life prep up a notch and got a kit called a Nokbox: a box of worksheets that you file away for any next of kin tasked with managing your earthly to-dos after you’re gone. nyti.ms/4jJuIwL

I wrote tomorrow's newsletter about the death penalty MONTHS ago, but now that our government is planning to execute someone live on air, it's unfortunately more topical than I intended it to be. Sign up: deadparentswhatnow.com/newsletter #newsletter #deathpositive #deathpenalty

Living in South Dakota? Here are the legal methods of disposition in your state as of October 2026. #deathpositive #deatheducation #funeral #burial #cremation #aquamation #humancomposting #greenburial #southdakota

Let's be real: contemplating mortality is scary. This Halloween, let's try to work through our fear of death together. Catch you at the next edition of DUE DATE: A LIBRARY DEATH SALON on October 22 at Louisville's Mashup Food Hall! #louisville #deathsalon #deathcafe #fearofdeath #deathpositive

While I’m certainly death positive, I also like to do my part to stop preventable deaths! Get 💉 this cold and flu season! #deathpositive #vaccinated

Lately I've been helping out with tours of Loretto Woods Natural Cemetery—the only full conservation cemetery in the commonwealth! Won't you join us on October 15 or November 14? RSVP: www.lorettocommunity.org/loretto-wood... #naturalburial #greenburial #kentucky #cemetery #deathpositive

Too afraid of your own mortality to make a will? Shake it off. Sign up for tomorrow's newsletter to learn why most Americans *aren't* making wills: deadparentswhatnow.com/newsletter #deathpositive #willsandtrusts #estateplanning #mortality #endoflifeplanning #newsletter #taylorswift

Living in South Carolina? Here are the legal methods of disposition in your state as of October 2026. #deathpositive #deatheducation #funeral #burial #cremation #aquamation #humancomposting #greenburial #southcarolina

Build a Better Sympathy Card at the Chicago End-of-Life Expo went great. Here are just a few—far superior to anything you might find in the greeting card aisle at your local drugstore! #deathpositive #grief

See, Gen X? Someone remembered you exist! And you remembered that one day you WON'T exist! #deathpositive #genx #survey #endoflifeplanning #estateplanning #endoflife

Tales from the Crypt! But IRL! Talk about your dead loved ones! Ask other people about their dead loved ones! It’s important to keep those memories alive! #deathpositive #grief

HEY THE CHICAGO END-OF-LIFE EXPO WAS REALLY FUN! 10/10 LET’S DO IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR! (Amazing 📸 by Greg Inda)

In tomorrow's edition of The Columbarium: the story of the Rainbow Bridge and how our dead pets got there. 🌈 Sign up: deadparentswhatnow.com/newsletter #newsletter #rainbowbridge #petdeath #petloss #grief #deathpositive #petgrief

Living in Rhode Island? Here are the legal methods of disposition in your state as of September 2026. #deathpositive #deatheducation #funeral #burial #cremation #aquamation #humancomposting #greenburial #rhodeisland

This weekend, I'll be visiting my hometown for the Chicago End-of-Life Expo at Sleeping Village, which is SOLD OUT?! Keep an eye on the SV website in case more (free) tickets drop. Already registered? I'll see you there! #chicago #endoflife #deathpositive #expo

So, you saw that episode of The Pitt, and now you're curious about death doulas. One week from today I'll be giving a presentation for Gilda's Club Kentuckiana about what death doulas do and don't do. (Say that five times fast.) Register here: www2.gck.org/Events/Calen... #deathdoula #gildasclub

You know what wasn't fun? Calling a bunch of funeral homes while my dad was dying because they didn't put their prices online like any other normal 21st century business. #deathpositive #funeral #statistics #funeralpoverty #funeralhome

A reminder I always need and maybe you do, too: you can’t live every day like it’s your last if you’re exhausted. Get some rest. #deathpositive #carpediem #restup

In tomorrow's edition of The Columbarium: Jessica Mitford! The iconic muckraker who exposed corruption in the American funeral industry. Sign up: deadparentswhatnow.com/newsletter #deathpositive #newsletter #jessicamitford #muckraker #journalism #funeral #history #corruption #mitfordsisters

Living in Pennsylvania? Here are the legal methods of disposition in your state as of September 2026. #deathpositive #deatheducation #funeral #burial #cremation #aquamation #humancomposting #greenburial #pennsylvania

Grief is weird. Get into it. #grief #deathpositive #weird

Nice campaign by the Norwegian Consumer Council about the declining lifespan of products. Enjoy!

💀 Last year, Leah Raidt and I hosted our first death meditation and living funeral ritual. This year, we're doing it again—on the Day of the Dead! Join us at MaybeItsFate for a two-hour Memento Mori workshop. Details here: www.deadparentswhatnow.com/events/memen... #workshop #deathpositive

Here’s the thing: human beings have been dying on this planet for hundreds of thousands of years, and other human beings have been burying them for just as long. Basically everywhere you walk is a graveyard on some level. #deathpositive

The Columbarium is back TOMORROW with the origins of Davy Jones' locker. Ahoy, maties. Sign up for the newsletter here: deadparentswhatnow.com/newsletter #newsletter #deathpositive #etymology #davyjoneslocker #pirates #deathhistory #burialatsea

Living in Oregon? Here are the legal methods of disposition in your state as of September 2026. #deathpositive #deatheducation #funeral #burial #cremation #aquamation #humancomposting #greenburial #oregon

I love wandering through cemeteries—but more importantly, so does Mariana Enriquez. And as both a taphophile and a writer, she is far better equipped to share her cemetery journeys. I loved her collection SOMEBODY IS WALKING ON YOUR GRAVE. bookshop.org/a/116176/978... #deathpositive #books

The stuff that comes before death is nearly as confusing as the stuff that comes after death. Join us at Mashup Food Hall ONE WEEK FROM TODAY to share your experiences with end-of-life care so we can all learn together. #louisville #deathpositive #deathcafe #hospice #endoflifecare #palliativecare