Article For Funeral News

www.quotefuneral.com/susan-boyle-chooses-her-own-funeral-song-102

Susan Boyle Chooses Her Own Funeral Song

Although only 49, Scottish singer Susan Boyle has revealed the song she would like to have played at her funeral one day. "It would have to be 'Nellie the Elephant'. She packed her trunk and said goodbye to the circus. 
You've got to leave them laughing. Funerals don't have to be sad. Peter Sellers made them smile with 'In the Mood' ' so I could do it with 'Nellie the Elephant'."

Boyle went on to say she would like to make the congregation laugh at her funeral when she passes away and thinks the children's novelty track would be the perfect choice to make mourners smile.
Boyle shot to fame last year when her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent became an internet sensation. She later went on to win the competition and release a number one CD, I Dreamed a Dream.

More and more celebrities are reportedly planning aspects of their own funerals, or even the entire ceremony. Actress Brittany Murphy’s husband Simon Monjack died in May 2010, just five months after her unexpected death. He pre-arranged his burial site to be next to his late wife at Forest Lawn in Los Angeles. Music at the service included a recording of Monjack playing piano while Murphy sang.

Reality star Jade Goody began planning her funeral as her cancer worsened. She died in 2009, at the age of 27.

It’s not just for the famous. Many funeral planners report an increase in this type of personal planning. Some clients choose the music they would like played, while others pre-arrange everything about the service from the flowers to the casket to the family’s thank you notes to be sent out afterward.

This growing trend is reflected in the many online sites designed to help people plan their own funerals. It doesn’t have to be morbid. Many of these sites cater to baby boomers who have a sense of humor about the process, and want to keep it light. This is apparent by their slogans. www.mywonderfullife.com reminds us, “You only get one chance to make a last impression”, and at www.myfunkyfuneral.com, they claim to “put the fun back in funeral”.

-Alicia King

Author of Sorry For Your Loss: What People Who Are Grieving Wish You Knew

First Review!!

The following just in from Holly Gleason, a social critic, songwriter, pop commentator and music critic whose work has appeared in ROLLING STONE, THE LA TIMES, CREEM, PLAYBOY, THE OXFORD AMERICAN, NO DEPRESSION, HARP, PASTE, THE NY TIMES, HUFFINGTON POST and INTERVIEW, to name a few.

"Grief is so singular, not just to the person, but the individual death, knowing the right thing to do confuses, overwhelms and sometimes even drives those who care away. Alicia King is no stranger to the disorienting pain of losing people she loves -- and that empathy informs a concise, clear how-to book for anyone trying to help someone else cope with a major loss.

"Stressing how different each case is, practical in both adapatability suggestions and insight into the varying forms of grief, Sorry For Your Loss: What People Who Are Grieving Wish You Knew will increase comfort and even more importantly, greatly reduce missteps, faux pas and the awkward feeling of not knowing what to do."
-- Holly Gleason
The Yummy List

www.theyummylist.com

Good News, Bad News

I got a song idea while in the shower yesterday and ran downstairs in a towel to grab my guitar. As I hit the final landing, I saw the UPS guy walk up to my porch. (We have window panels that run the length of the front door on both sides.) I immediately turned and ran back up, but it was too late. There was eye contact. Now, you should know I had a huge towel wrapped around me, but still. Awkward. What are the chances musical inspiration would strike right as Mr. What-Can-Brown-Do-For-You arrived?

Obviously, this was the bad news. The good news is what was in the package! The sharp and hard-working (while impossibly young and pretty) Laura Morris (Publicity and Mktg Mgr for Turner Pub) had sent a few advance copies of the book! Like galleys, only bound and same format as the book, they are used to generate interest and for review purposes.

Sure, the title will be different in the final product, but this was tangible proof. It's happening. It's coming out. Maybe people will buy it, read it, talk about it. Talk about grief, and how we can better support each other through it. Exactly what I've been hoping for and working toward.

That just sounds like a big bunch of good news.

P.S. I now keep my guitar upstairs.