No One Gets Out of Here Alive;
Time to ‘Think Outside the Box’

Among the most important decisions any of us will ever make is how we choose to leave this life. Sometimes we make decisions for loved ones with the benefit of being informed of their wishes; sometimes we make decisions under sudden circumstances. And then there are those people who have planned their exit down to the last detail. Regardless of where you happen to be in the spectrum of these options, you’ll want to hear what Michelle Cromer has to say in her book, Exit Strategy: Thinking Outside the Box, a Tarcher/Penguin paperback to be published Oct. 27.

Cromer offers an entertaining and educational overview of creative alternatives to traditional funerals. From having one’s remains shot into outer space, turned into a piece of jewelry, sifted into the roots of a tree, spread across the sky in a fireworks display, submerged in a coral reef, or scattered over Mt. Rainer, the options for how we dispose of or preserve our remains is limited only, it seems, by our own imaginations. Cromer attributes the growing demand for unconventional end-of-life ceremonies to several reasons—one being the fact that most American families are now so spread out that visiting a cemetery is becoming increasingly difficult; another having to do with the way baby boomers are applying their relentless pursuit of personal expression to the art of dying. Whatever the causes, the results are remarkable. Traveling around the country, Cromer meets families and entrepreneurs who are turning the funeral into an occasion for celebration and more intimate remembrance.

All of these innovative ideas, Cromer writes, represent an effort “to make the passage from life to death more personal and connected with the rest of our lives.” They remind us “that physical death and physical decay are natural processes, without which there could be no new life.”

Exit Strategy is filled with odd facts—such as the one about right-handed people on average living nine years longer than southpaws. And there are fascinating sidebars covering everything from famous Hollywood funerals and virtual cemeteries on the Internet to eloquent eulogies, notable burials at sea (like those for John F. Kennedy Jr., Ingrid Bergman and Grateful Dead rocker Jerry Garcia). Then there’s information about caskets designed to double as furniture (i.e., sofas, coffee tables, and entertainment centers) before being put to their final use. For anyone who isn’t planning on living forever, Exit Strategy is a must read. Info: Gail Parenteau, 212/532-3934; e-mail: GParenteau@aol.com