19 Things Funeral Directors Want You To Know

    Everything you've ever wanted to know about what happens to your body after you die — and how it's done.

    When someone dies, there's a lot to be done, both logistically and emotionally.

    1. Becoming a funeral director requires education, training, and state certification.

    2. No, they don't all do embalming.

    3. And btw, embalming is about replacing bodily fluids and removing decomposing tissue, not taking out all of your insides.

    4. Being a funeral director can involve a lot of paperwork.

    5. You can get mega creative in planning a service for yourself or your loved one.

    6. There are many more ways than just a traditional funeral or cremation to deal with someone's actual body.

    7. You can even keep your loved one's body in your home for a few days after they die.

    8. There are some people whose job is to do the hair, nails, makeup, and clothes for the deceased.

    9. Even though funeral directors are kind of running the show, caring for the body from death to burial/cremation can be an ensemble number.

    10. Funeral directors don't necessarily make a ton of money.

    11. Related: They're not all trying to get you to shell out for an elaborate burial.

    12. They're not all into blood and guts. And their interest in death generally isn't dark and morbid.

    13. But, yes, okay, they're interested in death, but not for the reasons you think.

    14. They're definitely not desensitized to how fucking intense mortality is.

    15. The job can feel like a calling.

    16. A funeral director's hours can be bananas.

    17. And self-care is basically essential in this field.

    18. More than half of funeral directors in the US are women.

    19. And yes, Six Feet Under is pretty accurate.

    Now go on and contemplate your post-death plans for yourself.