Interview with “Too Poor to Die” author Amy Shea

Do you know what happens to people when they die in poverty and estranged from family? We talk to writer and advocate Amy Shea about her book, “Too Poor to Die: The Hidden Realities of Dying in the Margins,” in which she looks at how society treats poor, homeless and marginalized people in life, and how that connects to their outcomes when they die. We also chat about a resurgence of anti-poverty laws in the Bay Area and beyond.

Sources and additional reading:

“Too Poor to Die: The Hidden Realities of Dying in the Margins,” Amy Shea: https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/too-poor-to-die/9781978843981/

Equitable Disposition Alliance: https://equitabledisposition.org/

“A Certain Kind of Death,” dir. Grover Babcock and Blue Hadaegh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErooOhzE268&pp=ygUdYSBjZXJ0YWluIGtpbmQgb2YgZGVhdGggbW92aWU%3D

“The Potter’s Field,” dir. Edward Heavrin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwN_rfOoIuA

“The Unclaimed: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels,” Pamela Prickett and Stefan Timmermans:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/669835/the-unclaimed-by-pamela-prickett-and-stefan-timmermans/

“Ashes to Admin: Tales from the Caseload of a Council Funeral Officer,” Evie King:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76699588-ashes-to-admin

“The Lonely Death of George Bell,” N.R. Kleinfeld, New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/nyregion/dying-alone-in-new-york-city.html

“Dying old: and preferably alone? Agency, resistance and dissent at the end of life,” Allan Kellehear: http://ijal.se/article/view/1183