Customer Reviews

How to Bury a Goldfish: And Other Ceremonies & Celebrations for Everyday Life

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I was simply charmed by this book. It manages to be thought-provoking, interesting, highly useful and poetic all at the same time. The ceremonies themselves are surprisingly original and moving. My wife and I used one recently to commemorate the passing of my father-in-law a year ago. We were tearful at first, laughing soon thereafter, and somehow made a little more whole by the end. The personal stories the authors tell are also well worth reading. Their warmth and wisdom come across beautifully. Highly recommended.

I had a copy of Ms. Lang and Ms. Nayer's earlier edition of HOW TO BURY A GOLDFISH, but a friend borrowed it and never gave it back. So I eagerly bought a new copy when this new Skinner edition came out, and it's better than before. The authors give charming insights into their lives and advice about how to celebrate all occasions. Burying a goldfish is one kind of ceremony; welcoming a newly adopted child is another. You should order two copies of this helpful enchanting book, because you'll be lending it to someone who won't part with it!

The purpose of this book is not to be an instruction manual or 'how to celebrate', but instead to help the reader become aware of the importance of noting events that happen and caring for our lives as we progress through them. It is too easy in our modern society to to measure life's progress by the level of sophistication of our cell phones (do you remember getting your first cell phone? What it felt like to be able to call someone anytime, without getting coins for a payphone?) and we forget there are other things going on. To become an adult is not easy, there are no traditions or markers, no rite of passage that tells us when it happens. It is the same for most of the other steps we take through life. Paying attention to the events of our lives and noting them with some small ritual is a good way of seeing what is happening and stopping for a brief moment to make sure we are okay and ready to move on to the next thing. So use this book as a reminder to pay attention to life, unless you're OCD then you must use it as guide for proper conduction of a ceremony!