In ‘The Life We Leave,’ human composting and grief from an Auburn funeral home

Soundside · May 13, 2026 · 22m

In 2019, Washington became the first state in the country to legalize human composting as an alternative to burial and cremation.

That same year, entrepreneur Micah Truman founded Return Home, a funeral home that built the world’s first large-scale human composting facility in Auburn, Washington.

A new documentary tells the story of how Truman, who set out to disrupt the funeral industry for profit, discovered meaning in this new vision for death care.

Guest(s)

JJ Gerber, director of "The Life We Leave"

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want…