The Green Goodbye

Personal Perspectives

The Soft Goodbye: A Personal Perspective on Green Burial

Donelle Dreese Ph.D. on April 14, 2025

It is a wild form of love to envision your cells as soil, to fearlessly surrender your body to microbial absorption, to participate in this ancient sacred service to the earth.

It is a wild form of love to envision your cells as soil, to fearlessly surrender your body to microbial absorption, to participate in this ancient sacred service to the earth.

Environment

4 Ways to Reconnect With Nature in Wintertime

Donelle Dreese Ph.D. on December 17, 2024

To notice what is more visible in your environment during the winter months is to be awake and aware, to be mindful and alive.

To notice what is more visible in your environment during the winter months is to be awake and aware, to be mindful and alive.

Grief

I Need to Make a Call: Using a Wind Phone to Express Grief

Donelle Dreese Ph.D. on August 10, 2024

There is a powerful psychological and emotional process at work that transcends logic when you pick up the receiver of a wind phone and dial the number of a lost loved one.

There is a powerful psychological and emotional process at work that transcends logic when you pick up the receiver of a wind phone and dial the number of a lost loved one.

Grief

The Stone Pathway That Leads to Healing From Grief

Donelle Dreese Ph.D. on May 24, 2024

By reframing our relationship with the flora and fauna that surrounds us as “kin,” we can tap into the wisdom and interconnected web of all living beings and heal from grief.

By reframing our relationship with the flora and fauna that surrounds us as “kin,” we can tap into the wisdom and interconnected web of all living beings and heal from grief.

Relationships

The Ecology of Swedish Death Cleaning

Donelle Dreese Ph.D. on March 24, 2024

It is an act of love for all those who will need to clean out our “stuff” after we are gone.

It is an act of love for all those who will need to clean out our “stuff” after we are gone.

Media

Can You Read Your Way to a Better Death?

Donelle Dreese Ph.D. on December 26, 2023

"Death-positive" literature emerges as a powerful tool that can lead to a more knowledgeable approach to the mystery that awaits us all.

"Death-positive" literature emerges as a powerful tool that can lead to a more knowledgeable approach to the mystery that awaits us all.

Grief

The Pioneering Work of Death Doulas

Donelle Dreese Ph.D. on August 7, 2023

Death doulas are the teachers we may not want or think we need, but actually do.

Death doulas are the teachers we may not want or think we need, but actually do.

Grief

Beauty and Grief: The Artists of Green Burial

Donelle Dreese Ph.D. on June 1, 2023

Beauty heals, and the personalized attention to detail at a green burial service lays the aesthetic groundwork for recovering from a loss.

Beauty heals, and the personalized attention to detail at a green burial service lays the aesthetic groundwork for recovering from a loss.

Grief

Grief Without a Grave: Green Burial and Accessibility

Donelle Dreese Ph.D. on April 14, 2023

After a death, the gravesite is a psychological lifeline for those left behind. What if the grave is located in an area that is hard to access? There are options. Education is key.

After a death, the gravesite is a psychological lifeline for those left behind. What if the grave is located in an area that is hard to access? There are options. Education is key.

Forest Bathing

It's Not Easy to Become a Tree

Donelle Dreese Ph.D. on March 7, 2023

Do you want your body to become a tree after death? Here are some viable options.

Do you want your body to become a tree after death? Here are some viable options.

Relationships

Remembering Love: Grief and Green Burial in HBO’s "Six Feet Under"

Donelle Dreese Ph.D. on January 18, 2023

Plan like you are running out of time, because you are.

Plan like you are running out of time, because you are.

Cognition

The Chemistry of Cremated Remains

Donelle Dreese Ph.D. on December 8, 2022

Are you thinking about having your body cremated after death? There are a few things to consider first.

Are you thinking about having your body cremated after death? There are a few things to consider first.

Meditation

Maranasati: Where Meditation and Green Burial Intersect

Donelle Dreese Ph.D. on November 3, 2022

Can a contemplative walk through a green burial ground lessen your fear of death?

Can a contemplative walk through a green burial ground lessen your fear of death?