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Can a funeral be beautiful? Film: Remembering Josh Edmonds

Can a funeral be beautiful? – Film: Remembering Josh Edmonds

REMEMBERING JOSH from JIMMY Edmonds on Vimeo.

I’ll admit – I get sent a lot of stuff that I am told I ‘must’ read or watch….and I don’t read or watch all of it. But this…this documentary….this stunning, stunning documentary, is both very raw and beautifully open.  One of the men in the film summed it all up for me with a comment about the collision of grief and beauty.  It shows just how truly beautiful, personal, and healing a funeral can be.

Josh Edmonds was 22 when he died in a road accident while travelling in South-East Asia in Jan 2011.(In fact, this weekend is the first anniversary of his death.) His family decided that they wanted to completely plan his funeral themselves, without the involvement of a traditional funeral director.
The film is both a tribute to Josh’s amazing life as well as a record of what the experience of creating and being involved in the funeral was like for everyone.

You often hear about bespoke funerals – and usually ‘bespoke’ couldn’t be further from the truth of what funerals are, with your loved one’s name and info being slotted in at the relevant points between hymns, songs, a certain number and type of speech….and then you’re done and it’s time to head to the ‘bespoke’ hearse (because the next funeral is on in 10 minutes and the next lots of mourners are waiting.)

You can gain HUGE amounts of healing and bonding from getting involved in the last rites – too often we are protected from the reality of death and this can be all too easy when the funeral director takes over everything and you just turn up to see the coffin. No wonder death can seem so unreal.

Doing as much of your own planning as you can allows you to create the funeral that actually matches the personality and that is a true reflection of the person you’ve lost. It allows you to create a true tribute to who they were, the lives they have touched, and the difference they have made.

I am not sure I have seen a more beautiful example of this than the funeral for Josh and the documentary that was made from that experience as a memorial of his life.

I can’t recommend you watch this highly enough.

Do take a look and let me know what you got from it.

Here is the link to the Beyond Goodbye website if you’d like to visit it.

Kristie
xx

P.S. if you organising a funeral and need help putting a funeral speech together check out my e-book ‘How to Write and Give a Beautiful Funeral Speech’ for all the tips you need. Click here to take a look.

{ 2 comments }

Rachel January 16, 2012 at 11:28 am

I couldnt agree more Kristie. Putting together your own tributes helps ease the immediate pain. Having a video and/or photographs of the funeral completes the story of a persons life – why shouldnt we commemorate the end? It also provides something to look at and talk through with others, to perpetuate the memory and aid in the grieving process

Kristie West January 16, 2012 at 6:20 pm

A documentary or any film or photos can be a really lovely addition and later remembrance of the day. Very true Rachel.
xxx

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