‘Sharp, angry, punchily philosophical and often funny. It basically invents a new type of lifestyle aspiration: deathstyle.’ The Times
‘Callender’s joyous, thought-provoking book is an account of how his own early encounters with bereavement led to him becoming a new kind of undertaker.’ Daily Mail
‘This book is a great work of craft and beauty.’ Salena Godden
‘I loved What Remains? Funny, demystifying, but mostly, deeply moving.’ Kathy Burke, Actor and Director
‘This compelling personal story of a pioneering punk undertaker is a moving revelation.’ Love Reading
‘Inspiring and unforgettable.’ John Higgs, author of William Blake vs the World
Death has shown me . . . the unbreakable core of love and courage that lies at the heart of what it means to be human.
Ru Callender wanted to become an undertaker in order to offer people a more honest experience than the stilted formality of traditional ‘Victorian’ funerals. Driven by raw emotion and the unresolved grief of losing his own parents, Ru brought an outsider, ‘DIY’ ethos to the business of death, combined with the kinship and inspiration he found in rave culture, social outlaws and political nonconformists.
Ru has carried coffins across windswept beaches, sat in pubs with caskets on beer-stained tables, helped children fire flaming arrows into their father’s funeral pyre, turned modern occult rituals into performance art and, with the band members of the KLF, is building the People’s Pyramid of bony bricks in Liverpool – all in the name of creating truly authentic experiences that celebrate those who are no longer here and those who remain.
Radical, poignant, unflinchingly real and laugh-aloud funny, What Remains? will change the way you think about life, death and the human experience.
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: <a href="https://www.thegreenfuneralcompany.co.uk/">www.thegreenfuneralcompany.co.uk</a> and follow Ru on Twitter @wayswithweirds and <a href="https://rucallender.com/">RuCallender.com</a>
