Final Rights: Reclaiming the American Way of Death by Joshua Slocum and Lisa Carlson (2011)—Slocum—once an investigative reporter who was shocked to learn how difficult it is to apprehend information the funeral industry routinely keeps from the public it serves—is now the executive director of the Funeral Consumers Alliance. Carlson is the executive director of the Funeral Ethics Organization. They team up with this book to inform consumers of their rights and to propose legal reforms.
In Slocum’s preface, he says, “When you read this book, I hope you will have many of the same reactions I did when I started digging beneath the surface of the American way of death. I want you to be surprised at the options you didn’t know you had and emerge knowledgeable enough to have frank conversation with your family about the things you, and they, do and don’t want in a funeral. I also hope you will be indignant enough to join your local nonprofit FCA, or start one if none exists in your area. … The FCA cares about protecting every individual’s right to choose the last hurrah that fits her taste and her budget.”
