
Ru Callender was moved to become an undertaker through his experience of bereavement and its aftermath. He spent much of his childhood in the hospice where his mother worked, and the caring humanistic philosophy of the hospice movement is central to his work. He opened The Green Funeral Company with Claire in 2000 and the company is now among the country's best-known eco-friendly funeral directors. In 2012, they won Joint Best Funeral Director at the first Good Funeral Awards and were described as 'The best undertakers of all time, by a country mile' by Good Funeral Guide author, Charles Cowling. Ru and Claire spoke at TEDx Totnes on death, grief, ritual and radical funerals. In 2021, Claire left the company and Ru continues with a new colleague.
Callender, Phillips, Cauty & Drummond: Undertakers to the Underworld was established as a partnership between The Green Funeral Company and The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (KLF) in 2017. Find out more at: www.thegreenfuneralcompany.co.uk and follow Ru on Twitter @wayswithweirds and RuCallender.com
'It's extraordinary. You'll laugh, you'll cry, your heart will break, your heart will shine, filled with love. You'll be changed. An instant classic.'
Rob Hopkins, author of From What Is to What If
'Rupert Callender takes us to the dark end of the street, but he does so with wit, beauty and no little experience. It's a one-of-a-kind ride, filled with storytelling. This original and gutsy book will do a lot of good in the world.'
Martin Shaw, author of Smoke Hole
'Part memoir, part rant against the traditional funeral business, part manifesto, part just musing on death and facing it with compassion and courage. It's lovely and thoughtful and may make you rethink a few things.'
The Guardian
'This isn't a grisly book; it is sharp, angry, punchily philosophical and often funny. It basically invents a new type of lifestyle aspiration: deathstyle.'
The Times
'This book is great work of craft and beauty, truth and humanity, heart and soul. I believe it could be used as a teaching tool and as a comfort. I find Callender's approach to this huge subject deeply loving and moving, but also revolutionary in spirit and courageous.'
Salena Godden, author of Mrs Death Misses Death
'Fascinating, informative, iconoclastic, What Remains? is an extraordinary memoir that will have special value for readers with an interest in the Cultural Anthropology of burial practices and rituals.'
Midwest Book Review