In technical parlance, Evie is responsible for “Section 46 funerals under the Public Health Act”. In lay terms, that means arranging funerals for people who die alone, without family or friends to arrange a funeral. In her straight-talking, informative introduction, Evie explains the process: “when a person dies in these circumstances, I get a call, typically from a care home, or a coroner, less typically from a relative”. Not everyone who has their funeral carried out under Section 46 is alone or estranged, There will also be individuals with next of kin to mourn them, but who are unable to bear the costs of the arrangements due to financial hardship and the rising price of funerals.

Ultimately, she will not only explain her role but she will seek to reframe how we view those who end up with what was once called a pauper's funeral, and in turn reframe how we think about our own endings. She also keenly wants to impart the need for preparation and expression of wishes. Hopefully you will leave ready to write your will and live your life out from under the weighty shadow of legacy.Best Books Set in the 1920s — from Stories That Shimmer with Champagne and Social Change, to Rip-roaring Reads Covering Crime, Colonialism and Beyond. Money Matters Neurodiversity Preparing for University - Subject Reading Lists Reading For Pleasure Stationery King talks about her early days in the job, and with each case, we see her expertise and knowledge developing and growing. She learns how to become immune to the "smell of death" to maggots in months'-old food and, in the process, realises that she possesses a talent for organising respectful funerals for the dispossessed dead. Recommended Reads about Race, Racism, and Demarginalizing History - Necessary Non-fiction You Should Read for Life-changing Insights and Impact

She clearly cares for her 'clients' and represents an ideal of how such cases should be conducted. You can't fault her personal passion and commitment. A remarkable book about a job that most of us don’t realise exists by a woman who chose to throw her heart and soul into it. Philosophical, funny, tragic and intriguing. This has to be made into a prime-time TV drama' – Richard Herring Sometimes you just know that you are going to love a book from the first few sentences and that was absolutely the case with Ashes to Admin. If you're coming to Coles by car, why not take advantage of the 2 hours free parking at Sainsbury's Pioneer Square - just follow the signs for Pioneer Square as you drive into Bicester and park in the multi-storey car park above the supermarket. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you. You don't need to shop in Sainsbury's to get the free parking! Where to Find Us The author instils the stories of those who have received a Section 46 Council funeral with a level of humour which makes what at times can be quite an emotional read also a very funny one.There's plenty to learn in this gently uplifting book. Some of Evie King's cases will make you cry, others will make you angry, and some will make you smile - or even *laugh*. Above all, there's nothing morbid or depressing about this book - unless you count the behaviour and attitudes of some of the deceaseds' family members. Each chapter is a case referred to her. King writes with love and humour about the accompanying frustrations and emotions as she goes above and beyond to give everyone a dignified goodbye. To ensure no one is alone when they're buried or cremated and to bring the dead to life so that we know them and their story. We learn about the endless admin hoops King has to jump through. The strange practicalities. That death is of course not 9-5 so the work isn't either. That people can be awkward but also wonderful. And that everyone has a story. Reminiscent of Adam Kay but in a glorious world all of its own, this made me smile a lot and also cry. In this talk, Evie lifts the coffin lid on the world of a council funeral officer, a job that lurches from the legislative and administrative, via the workaday and practical, right through to the emotional and existential. Her stories are sometimes tragic, as with the case of an unidentified woman found on a beach buried without even a name, but often uplifting and occasionally hilarious. Ultimately, Evie discovers that her job is more about life than it is about death, funerals being for the living and death being merely a trigger to rediscover a life and celebrate it against the odds. About This Edition ISBN: Evie King also struggles with her role and emotions in all of this. What is she supposed to feel, or not, in relation to the people she is organising funerals for? With every death some sort of relationship is formed, and some cases, like the burial of someone with learning difficulties, hit closer to home than others.

Death is something we all have in common so I'm always up for a book about it and this one (obviously) has it in (gravedigger) spades. It's a poignant, sometimes difficult, bizarre, and yet incredibly uplifting read. Evie King is a council worker charged with sorting out Section 46 funerals - funerals for those with no one or no one able or willing to do so on their behalf. Alongside dealing with the standard complaints we expect the council to deal with (bin collections, noise, dog poo, etc), she sees humanity, life, and death in all its strangeness. It's a job that encompasses plenty of persistent detective work, grief counseling, the obvious (and not so obvious) admin, and a tonne of empathy. I found the author's attitude to dying to be positively infectious, so the book has probably had a lasting impact on the ways in which I think about death and dying, as well as making the most out of living. i bought this book on a complete whim, i’d seen an advert for it and thought it sounded interesting. i’m glad i did because it was such an insightful and emotional read. Diane (Philomena Cunk) Morgan: "A fascinating, poignant, and funny insight into the slightly macabre world of a Council Funeral Officer."I thus experienced first-hand the magic of the work that Evie King does. Evie King works for her local council and part of her job is to carry out funerals under Section 46. It is not a given that there are people available to organise a funeral after someone dies, but legally in the UK councils are responsible when no-one is available. People are not just thrown in a ditch and forgotten. Evie is a local council worker charged with carrying out Section 46 funerals under the Public Health Act. Or to put it in less cold, legislative language; funerals for those with nobody around, willing or able to bury or cremate them.