Beyond the Goodbye – Perspective on grieving from a funeral director

In today's episode with Karen Roldan, a licensed funeral director, embalmer, and the creator of Behind the Funeral, to pull back the curtain on one of the most misunderstood industries in our lives — death care.

With nearly twenty years of experience and a deep respect for the families she serves, Karen brings honesty, compassion, and clarity to conversations many of us avoid until we're forced to have them. As a graduate of Worsham College of Mortuary Science and a licensed professional in funeral services, cremation, pre-need planning, and cemetery property, Karen offers a rare insider perspective on what really happens behind the scenes after a death.

Through Behind the Funeral, Karen is changing how we talk about grief, funerals, and end-of-life planning — dismantling myths, answering hard questions, and humanizing a profession often surrounded by fear and silence. In our conversation, we explore what families should know before making arrangements, why transparency matters in death care, and how understanding the process can bring peace during some of life's most difficult moments.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone navigating loss, planning ahead, or simply wanting a more honest and informed relationship with death — because the conversations we avoid are often the ones that heal us most.

 

Episode Highlights

• The Death-Positive Movement

• Transparency in the Funeral Industry

• End-of-Life Planning for Millennials & Gen X

• Normalizing Conversations About Death

• Grief Education vs Grief Avoidance

• Ethical Funeral Practices

• Pre-Planning Funerals & Cremation

• Humanizing the Death-Care Profession

• Funeral Industry Myths Debunked

• Emotional Support During Funeral Planning

• Death Literacy & Public Education

• Digital Memorials & Modern Grief Rituals

• Consumer Advocacy in Funeral Services

• Trauma-Informed Death Care

• Cultural Shifts in How We Honor the Dead

• funeral director insights

• death care industry explained

• behind the funeral process

• funeral planning guide

• cremation vs burial explained

• end-of-life planning education

• funeral myths and truths

• grief and funeral services

• death care transparency

• licensed funeral director advice

• pre-need funeral planning

• what happens after death

• funeral costs explained

• compassionate funeral care

• talking about death and grief

• modern funeral practices

• behind the scenes funeral home

• death positive movement

• understanding cremation process

• how funerals really work

 

Know Karen Roldan

Visit behindthefuneral.com to learn more.

karen@behindthefuneral.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenroldanaasfsp/

 

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