Dealing with Tragic Loss: The Emotional and Physical Challenges of the Funeral Industry

14min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

The chapter explores the emotional and physical impact of working in a funeral home, particularly when dealing with violent deaths. It discusses the process of preparing bodies, reconstructing facial injuries caused by violence, and the complexities of restoring appearances to provide closure for families. Highlighting specific heartbreaking cases, the speaker reflects on the mental toll of the job and the importance of showing care and respect for the deceased.

The Lawrence H. Woodward funeral home in Brooklyn has been run by one family for generations, and has handled many funerals for victims of violent crime.

When we visited, one funeral director told us, “I don’t think people understand when you’re dealing with a victim who’s been shot – we see these things. It’s a mental toll on the person that has to now look at this gunshot victim and put them back together.”

Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The Accomplice. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: iTunes.com/CriminalShow.

Sign up for Criminal Plus to get behind-the-scenes bonus episodes of Criminal, ad-free listening of all of our shows, members-only merch, and more. Learn more and sign up here.

Listen back through our archives at youtube.com/criminalpodcast.

We also make This is Love and Phoebe Reads a Mystery.

Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop.

Episode transcripts are posted on our website.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices