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THE GOOD DEATH VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR: Suzanne B. O'Brien RN in Conversation with Melissa Meadow. What if everything you thought you knew about funerals was wrong? In this powerful episode, we sit down with Melissa Meadow, also known as The Modern Mortician, to uncover the truth behind the funeral industry. With nearly 30 years of experience, Melissa shares her journey into eco-friendly and transparent death care, challenging outdated traditions and exposing common misconceptions. She breaks down the history of embalming, the marketing myths that drive costly decisions, and the rise of sustainable alternatives. Through her work and influential social media presence, Melissa empowers families to make informed, ethical choices and create meaningful, personalized farewells that truly honor their loved ones. (00:02) Redefining the Funeral Industry (14:45) Navigating the Funeral Industry Marketing (19:25) Alternative Funeral Options and Practices (27:53) Honoring Life Through Rituals and Grief (38:58) Exploring Green End-of-Life Options (47:26) Building a Positive Change Together Register to join us for FREE: THE GOOD DEATH BOOK CLUB EXPERIENCE: 12 MONTH FREE DEATH AND DYING COURSE Or visit our website here! GET THE GOOD DEATH BOOK Here Meet our guest: Melissa Meadow The Modern Mortician Website: www.themodernmortician.com IG: the_modern_mortician FB: The Modern Mortician TikTok: the_modern_mortician Please Share! Know someone who is a caregiver, healthcare worker, or spiritual seeker? Share this episode and invite them to join this sacred and supportive experience. Listen & Subscribe: Available on Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • YouTube JOIN MY FREE TRAINING AND MEMBERSHIP SITE This is a community-supported group hosted by Suzanne B. O'Brien RN, founder of the International Doulagivers Institute for training those who want to be professional End of Life Doulas, Doulagiver Practitioners and for anyone wanting more EOL education Join Here: 4491664174178077 ⚑ SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL ⚑ If you want to do great things you need to have a great environment. Create the life you want by surrounding yourself with positivity and watching daily. Click here to subscribe! ツ CONNECT WITH ME ツ Leave a comment on this video and it'll get a response. Or you can connect with me on different social platforms too: Instagram Facebook TikTok Website Podcast #deathdoula #deathdoultraining #dyingwell #death #life #deatheducation #doulagivers #hospice #hospicecare #hospicenurse #deathdoula #soulmidwife #deathmidwife #endoflifeplanning #healthcareproxy #funerals #fearofdeath #endoflifedoula #thegooddeath #hospice #grief #deathawareness #birth #endoflife #deathpositivity #consciousdying #dying #advanceplanning #deathpositive #gooddeath #consciousliving #endoflifedirective #palliativecare #advancedirective #livefully #suzannebobrien. #lifecafe #consciousness #awarenes
I have to say, I was so impressed with myself for getting through this conversation with sensation in my toes - I'm a total baby talking about blood and stuff, and I expected to have a hard time with it, but I was too interested to get queasy, I guess. Even the 2nd time listening to edit, it was still so fascinating! Feeling very lucky that Melissa Meadow crossed my Instagram feed. This opened my eyes to a ton of new information that's available.Melissa Meadow started her career early, and has been in the funeral home business since she was very young, evolved into being a mortician, and has tons of wisdom to share that we might not know about. I had only heard the phrase green burial in the last few months - let alone water cremation and others... AND I thought that cremation was more environmentally friendly than burying a whole body, because it took up more space - boy was I wrong about that!This is why I wanted to have Melissa on the podcast; in her words: "There are options that are better for the environment and align with those wanting transparency and options." I love that she shared so many new options! Have you already made plans for when you die? I had when my mom passed away, but that was in Maine, where I don't live anymore, so I have to plan again- and now I have more information to make a more informed decision. It may sound morbid, but it's an important topic, I think. The more you have planned out, the less traumatic your death will be - speaking from some experience...I hope you take some good info away from this conversation - I know I did!You can find Melissa at her website https://www.themodernmortician.com/ (there are so many helpful resources here!)Her Instagram page, where I found her, is both fascinating and entertaining: https://www.instagram.com/the_modern_morticianShe's also on TikTok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@the_modern_morticianAnd lastly on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Modern_MorticianYou can send me messages(this is new!)!Support the showPlease follow Grounded In Maine podcast on Instagram here YouTube channel link is here You can DM me there or email me at amysgardenjam@gmail.com Website for Amy's Garden Jam is https://amysgardenjam.com/ (podcast has its own tab on this site!)How Do I Get There From Here by Jane Bolduc - listen to more at https://www.janebolduc.com/Podcast cover by Becca Kofron- follow here on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/cute_but_loud/ and check out her awesome art projects. Grounded in Maine Podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout, the easiest podcast hosting platform with the best customer service! Learn more at https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1851361 You can support this podcast one time (or many) with the Buy me a coffee/Hot Chocolate link here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/groundedinmaine Grounded in Maine Podcast is sponsored by ESG Review. Learn more about the good they're doing at https://esgreview.net/
The Modern Mortician's journey from embalmer to the proprietor of the 1st ever not for profit funeral home & Conservation Burial Park. Melissa talks about “The End”, her therapy pup named Kermit, & water cremation prices. Check out our specialty shirt for Melissa's nonprofit! 100% of the proceeds go to support The End Foundation. Mourning Eggs Shirt ----- Want more of the Mortuary Show? Follow our social medias: Instagram TikTok Facebook ----- Show Notes: (07:52) – Gravedigging done by the family. (13:13) – Preparing unembalmed bodies. (19:05) – Growing “mourning eggs”. (30:03) – Taking dogs on removals.
One of my favorite people in death care is Melissa also known as @The Modern Mortician . Melissa is a licensed funeral director, educator, dog Mommy to her grief therapy dog Kermit and advocate for eco-friendly burial and disposition methods. In this installment of The Death and Grief Talk Podcast, Melissa and I speak candidly about the dark side of working in death care, mental health, finding and creating space in deathcare and the newest installment of her brand The Knotty Coffin. Connect with Melissa online: @the_modern_mortician www.themodermortician.com www.theknottycoffin.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deathandgrieftalk/message
Have you thought about the way you'd like to be buried or cremated? Betsy's mother-in-law's body was bathed, wrapped in a cloth and placed in the ground with flowers in what's referred to as a natural burial. It was beautiful, simple, ethical and affordable. Melissa helped her family every step of the way. Betsy interviews Melissa Unfred, better known as the Modern Mortician about "green" or "natural" burials. Most people have no idea that embalming is entirely unnecessary, expensive, invasive and environmentally unconscious. Melissa gives her candid opinions about the profit-driven death industry and how to bypass it entirely. They discuss all the shades of green burial, cremation, water cremation, and human composting. Melissa's website: www.themodernmortician.com For information in your state, search the Conservation Burial Council website Melissa also mentioned the Texas Funeral Service website and the book, Final Rites by Josh Slocum On social media, find Melissa as @themodernmortician or the_modern_mortician Follow Freedom Junkie Radio on Telegram https://t.me/freedomjunkieradiochat https://t.me/freedomjunkieradio On Instagram and Facebook (for now;) @freedomjunkieradio Find Betsy's music (including Better Than a King and We Can Agree) here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/betsydewey Or on iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, etc. Betsy is wearing the new fabulous labradorite pendant from www.vivalasilk.com
Melissa Unfred, AKA the Modern Mortician, specializes in green funeral service. She joins the show to discuss ways funeral directors can help families reduce their carbon footprint of their death rituals. To learn more about Melissa, check out: http://themodernmortician.com/
Do you realize how much garbage we put into the earth when we perform traditional western burials? Before Dorian hops on his soapbox to rant about it, Max educates him (and you!) on the mechanics of composting a dead body, how it benefits the soil, and which teenage heartthrob opted for a similarly green burial - which, by the way, is currently experiencing some controversy! Uh oh, he’s getting on the soapbox again… Click here to learn more about Recompose. (https://www.recompose.life/) Click here to listen to The W Files interview The Modern Mortician about the Mushroom Burial Suit. (https://wfilespodcast.podbean.com/e/ep-46-whats-the-deal-with-the-mushroom-suit-interview-with-the-modern-mortician/)
Join us while we spill some tea with the amazing Melissa Unfred! Also known as the Modern Mortician, she was kind enough to join us to discuss her experience and thoughts about the Infinity Burial Suit aka: The Mushroom Burial Suit.
Death is one of these taboo things – we don’t really want to think about it or hear about it, but then we’re like wait…I want to hear, or I want to see. We pull away from it and are drawn to it simultaneously. Death and curiosity go together, at least for me. I find myself existential often, thinking about how life is finite and how it will end for all of us. Death is the great equalizer, as I always say. Not one of us gets out of this life alive. So, who better than a mortician, a person around dead bodies 24/7, to speak to about death? So many things from this conversation blew my mind - from water cremation vs. fire cremation and how water cremation is 90% better in regards to energy efficiency compared to fire cremation (fascinating), how you can be turned into soil after you die (so interesting), how getting turned into a tree may not be the best option, and how donating your body to science is not all it’s cracked up to be if you don’t do proper research. Melissa told a story about her picking up the body of a woman who was her age (who had died suddenly of a stroke) and how that sent her into the most vicious panic attack she has ever had. I learned, through chatting with her this entire episode, how important it is to talk about our plan for our bodies after death BEFORE we actually die, or are even near death. We have to talk about this stuff. It makes so many things easier for so many people in the process, especially for our loved ones. And kids. Melissa does a lot of talks at schools and said that kids are surprisingly very open to talk about this stuff because they haven’t been indoctrinated or conditioned (depends on kid, sure) yet. They’re quite curious and open-minded, so it’s so crucial that we feed them good, useful information about death and not fearful information. Kids usually just pick up their parents thoughts or fears around death if it’s never talked about. This woman has an insane amount of passion around death education and she has an impressive laundry list of accomplishments – appearing on other podcasts, in the newspaper, other articles, working on a few documentaries, and as of late, she has been writing her first book that should be published soon. She has a huge following on social media, where she frequently posts real-life photos of the process (with family permission of course) on her Instagram stories. You can tell she really loves what she does and it just radiates from her. I had a lot of fun talking to her. So, tap into that morbid curiosity (we all have it!), buckle up, and tune in. Watch this podcast: https://youtu.be/8a3s5SYrbqA Connect with me: IG/Twitter: @ashrothstein www.ashleyrothstein.com Think you would be a good fit for the podcast? Send me an email with your story. ashrothpodcast@gmail.com Connect with Melissa: IG: @mod_mortician Facebook: The Modern Mortician Melissa's website: www.themodernmortician.com (where you can find resources to learn more about your options and other ways to connect with Melissa) Melissa's Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheModernMortician Melissa's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheModernMortician
This week on the season finale, Liz & Sarah chat with The Modern Mortician, Melissa Unfred. From embalming to aquamation, Death's besties (and their new pal) discuss 1000 ways to dispose of your body when you die. Stay tuned for a dead-funny episode!
In this first installment of Kick Ass People, Brandon sits down with Melissa Unfred the Modern Mortician. A woman bent on making changes in the death care industry. From things like "green" burials to biodegradable caskets, the Modern Mortician believes changing the death care industry can not be done without being involved in the entire process which is why she hopes to bring change not only in death care but also in the way you and I percieve death. You can find out more about Melissa and see pictures of Kermit the Dog on The Modern Morticians facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheModernMortician/?rc=p and http://themodernmortician.com/ This is the first of many Kick Ass People interviews. Be sure to subscribe to Emergency Exit Podcast on your favorite platform to be notified when there is new content. https://www.facebook.com/emergencyexitpodcast/ https://twitter.com/EmExPod emergencyexitpodcast@gmail.com
Melissa Unfred, the Modern Mortician, talks to me about death and the death industry. She is a funeral services director based in Austin, TX and is a leader in the death positive movement which seeks to open up the discussion about death and dying. Melissa is joined by Kermit, her sidekick who helps people through the grieving process. Music: For the Kill by La Roux You can find Melissa at: http://themodernmortician.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mod_mortician/?hl=en Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mod_Mortician Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheModernMortician/ Have an idea for a story or guest? Email me at iconosass@gmail.com
To be buried in an environmentally friendly manner is becoming more accessible throughout the country. It is actually an old practice that is being modernized. You can lower your carbon footprint even after you pass on from this our earth. We will be discussing what a green burial means, the role of funeral directors in green burial, how you can find out where to be buried ‘green’ and the resulting environmental benefits. Our guest were: Ann Hoffner is an environmental journalist and author, and among other things an avid world sailor. She has published many articles in environmental and sailing magazines and publications. She recently published “THE NATURAL BURIAL CEMETERY GUIDE”, a result of a years-long exploration of green burial, a new-old way of making the final recycling choice–what happens to your body after death. Before beginning the research she spent10 years on a 44-foot sailboat, traveling with her husband down the Panama Canal and across the Pacific to Australia and Southeast Asia, writing freelance articles for sailing magazines as she went. Follow Ann at greenburialnaturally.org as a platform for the cemetery guide and Facebook to share news and information about green burial. Melissa Unfred, better known as the ‘Modern Mortician” is undertaking Natural Burial funeral care for People and Pets in Austin, and the Central Texas area. She is a first generation Funeral Director/Embalmer, residing in Austin. She prefers to be called a Mortician, as it encompasses both titles. Her entry into funeral service began at 17 years old. She is licensed and serves on several boards related to the funeral industry. She was featured in the November 2015 issue of Texas Director Magazine in an article written by Alice Adams. Follow Melissa on Facebook and Instagram, or her website themodernmortician.com. Ellen Macdonald is the owner and Queen of the ‘Eloise Woods Community Burial Park” located in Cedar Creek, Texas. She says “If you see a woman pushing a wheelbarrow mulching trails or digging holes in the mornings at EloiseWoods that would be Ellen.” Before taking over the burial park, she earned a PhD in Neuroscience at UC San Diego, but got tired of chopping off rat’s heads. When she is not mulching trails or digging graves, Ellen also delivers groceries for Meals on Wheels homebound clients, volunteers at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House, and traps feral cats for the Austin Humane Society. You can follow Ellen at www.eloisewoods.com or on Facebook.