Better Send-off - Print

Better Send-Off
The Ultimate Funeral Guide

By Gail McJorrow

[15 in stock 1 July 2026
We will not be re-ordering this book once these copies have been sold]

A compassionate, practical guide to creating an affordable, personal, family-led funeral that honours your loved one with meaning, dignity and love.

This book will help you:

• Understand the choices available when arranging a funeral in New Zealand
• Save thousands of dollars by knowing what you can organise yourself
• Create a personal, heartfelt farewell that reflects the life and values of your loved one
• Explore family-led, funeral-home and hybrid funeral options
• Make greener funeral choices, including natural body care and eco-friendly coffin options
• Write a meaningful eulogy, choose music, prepare service sheets and plan tributes
• Approach death, grief and funeral planning with more confidence, clarity and connection

Features

• Practical New Zealand-focused funeral guidance
• Advice on family-led, hybrid and funeral-home options
• Ideas for personalised, affordable and green funerals
• Guidance on eulogies, service sheets, funeral songs, poems and tributes
• Includes funeral stories, planning prompts, useful links and a family-led funeral checklist

Paperback 142pp, Colour.
13 x19.5 cm
ISBN 9780994106971
Submarine / Mākaro Press (2015)

Description

Most of us hope that when the time comes to farewell someone we love, we will know what to do. Yet death often arrives with urgency, emotion and uncertainty, leaving families feeling they must hand everything over to strangers.

This practical and deeply reassuring guide shows that a funeral can be something more intimate, more meaningful and more healing: a sacred journey shaped by the people who knew and loved the person best.

Written in a warm, conversational style, this book demystifies the funeral process and gives readers the confidence to make informed choices. It explains the different pathways available, from working with a funeral home to organising a family-led farewell, as well as the growing middle ground of hybrid funerals. With clear guidance on legal questions, caring for the body, burial, cremation, ashes, keepsakes and service planning, it helps families understand what is possible and what they do not have to outsource.

A strong theme throughout is empowerment. Readers will find practical ways to reduce funeral costs, personalise ceremonies, include family and friends, choose meaningful music and readings, create a service sheet, write a eulogy and plan tributes that truly reflect the person who has died. The book also explores greener options, including natural body care, eco-coffins and environmentally thoughtful choices.

This is an invaluable resource for bereaved families, people planning ahead, celebrants, funeral directors and anyone who wants to approach death with more openness, creativity and care. Rather than simply enduring a funeral, readers are encouraged to create a farewell that brings comfort, connection and even moments of joy.

“Reading this book is like chatting with a wise auntie over a cuppa at your kitchen table. McJorrow uses a comforting, conversational style to explore some of life’s most difficult decisions. As an overview of the options now available to New Zealanders, Better Send-Off is both a welcome guide for the bereaved and a useful resource for celebrants and funeral directors.”
Larry Timberlake, Editor of Pānui – Official Journal of the Celebrants Association of NZ

About the Author

Gail McJorrow is a home funeral guide based in Eastbourne, Wellington. She is passionate about helping families reclaim the funeral process and create personal, affordable and meaningful farewells for their loved ones. Drawing on her own experiences of loss, her entrepreneurial background and her work supporting families through home funerals, she brings practical knowledge, warmth and encouragement to one of life’s most important tasks.

Contents

Why you need this book
The story behind Better Send-Off
Interesting funeral facts
Legal questions

The choice
Choosing a family-led funeral
Choosing a funeral home
Choosing a hybrid funeral
Caring for the body naturally
Embalming
Burial
Donation to medical science
Cremation
What to do with the ashes
Keepsakes

The service
A better send-off
10 ways to personalise a funeral
10 ways to save money on a funeral
10 ways to have a green funeral
Gail’s funeral tips
Choosing a celebrant
How to write a eulogy
The service sheet
Funeral poems & quotes
Funeral songs
Notifications & tributes
Dealing with grief
Funeral stories

Planning ahead
Wills
Living funeral
Funeral wishlist
Organ donation
Kiwi Coffin Club
Your life story
In a nutshell
Epilogue
Useful links & contacts

SEO-Friendly Description (160 Characters)
Practical NZ funeral guide with affordable, personal and green ideas for family-led funerals, eulogies, cremation, burial and planning ahead.

Keywords
funeral guide,home funeral,family-led funeral,funeral planning,green funeral,eulogy,cremation,burial,grief support,New Zealand

Better Send-off: The Ultimate Funeral Guide

Gail McJorrow

Pbk 142pp
ISBN 9780994106971
Makaro Press (2015)
[8 in stock]

Customers have been asking us for this book recently.

Gail is a home funeral guide and is passionate about sharing her knowledge and empowering families to stop out-sourcing their loved ones funeral to strangers, e.g. a professional funeral home, and to instead bring it back in-house and make it the intimate and connected sacred journey that it should be.

She will get you started on one of the most important tasks of your life with ways to save 1000's of dollars on your funeral as well as creative ideas on how to personalise a funeral, leave a green legacy and most importantly give your loved one a meaningful send-off.

She wants you to 'enjoy' the funeral rather than just 'endure' it. Your funeral is a sacred, intimate journey. Taking control of this process is an empowering and transformative experience for everyone involved. This book is a welcome guide for the bereaved and a useful resource for celebrants and funeral directors.

“Reading this book is like chatting with a wise auntie over a cuppa at your kitchen table. McJorrow uses a comforting, conversational style to explore some of life’s most difficult decisions. As an overview of the options now available to New Zealanders, Better Send-Off is both a welcome guide for the bereaved and a useful resource for celebrants and funeral directors.” Larry Timberlake, Editor of Pānui – Official Journal of the Celebrants Association of NZ