I Want to Be Composted When I Die

It’s going to be my legacy

Maria Shimizu Christensen
Policy Panorama
Published in
4 min readSep 22, 2024

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Photo by Sandie Clarke on Unsplash

My kids know to burn me up when I die. I’ve made absolutely sure over the years that they understand I am to be cremated. They don’t like talking about it — most people don’t — so I’m not looking forward to bringing it up again and adding a new twist. Now, I want to be composted. Instead of scattering my ashes, they can use my dirt to grow a flower garden or a tree. I hope they’re on board.

Burial practices are nearly as old as the human species, but even so, it’s not generally a subject we’re comfortable talking about. Death is a difficult topic, particularly when we’re talking about the death of a loved one. Or ourselves. On a list of controversial issues people dislike discussing, like politics, religion, and money, death comes in first place, according to a survey by insurance company Ethos. That survey also found that:

“More than two-thirds (68%) of Americans say discussing end-of-life preparations with family/loved ones is important, but fewer than half (47%) have done so… Even among those who say that discussing end-of-life preparations with family and loved ones is important, just over half (58%) have actually done so.”

I like to buck trends when I can, so I talk to my family about my end-of-life plans and wishes. I thought I might be bucking trends when I…

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Maria Shimizu Christensen
Policy Panorama

Writer. Maker. Featured in Medium’s 2021 list of Stories That Started Conversations. I write about life. https://www.mariashimizuchristensen.com