health
March 7, 2026
A death scholar on why we need to stop being naive about dying: ‘I always hear, “Can’t you just put me into a nice meadow?”’
Dr Hannah Gould on eco-funerals, being ‘the death person’ and the one thing everyone should know before they die
TL;DR
- Australia is projected to experience 'boomergeddon' around 2040, doubling the annual death rate and straining healthcare and deathcare systems.
- Baby boomers value autonomy and control over end-of-life decisions, leading to personalized funeral arrangements and bespoke burials.
- Dr. Gould criticizes naive ideas about 'green deaths,' pointing out that putting a sapling on a body can kill the tree and that these wishes often disregard the welfare of death workers.
- The increasing personalization of funerals can create hazards for death workers, particularly psychosocial ones.
- Gould worries that media outlets promote new death technologies without fact-checking environmental claims, leading to an unequal knowledge relationship with the public.
- She cautions against AI grief companions and AI-assisted advance care planning, suggesting they prevent meaningful human interaction and the experience of caring for the dying.
- Gould's one key piece of advice is to know and, if necessary, change your legal next of kin, as this person will make decisions about your funeral if you cannot.
- Communicating end-of-life wishes does not need to be a daunting conversation and can be as simple as a note or an email.
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