Better Send-off - Print
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)
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 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