When the Sun Sets

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Few people like to plan their own funerals. Fewer still enjoy the
prospect of making major financial decisions while wrestling with the
grief and stress that accompanies the loss of a loved one. This book is
designed to guide Canadians through the daunting task of planning a
funeral.

Geoffrey Carnell is a sixth-generation funeral director. As might be
expected even from the title, Carnell’s prose reflects the dignified
and occasionally euphemistic style affected by today’s professional
undertakers. Content is arranged in chapters titled “The First
Steps,” “The Traditional Funeral,” “The Cremation Service,”
“The Matter of Cost,” “The Wisdom of Preplanning,” and
“Getting Financial Help.” The book’s final chapter is, in reality,
an extended advertisement for Carnell’s own business, but it also
provides the reader with a fairly good overview of what services a
conventional funeral home can provide. Typical of a modern business,
Carnell’s funeral home has diversified and now also includes
warehouses and a muffler shop as part of its holdings.

The biggest flaw of this book is its obvious bias toward mainstream
professional funeral services. There is virtually no acknowledgment that
Canadians ever opt for funerals other than the kind provided by an
establishment like Carnell’s. Casket wholesalers, burial societies,
and other money-saving enterprises are nonexistent as far as Carnell is
concerned. Nevertheless, When the Sun Sets will be highly useful for
anyone who does not have the time or the stamina for price-shopping and
would rather leave the details to a professional.