Eulogies that Present Powerful Memories

Michael Laser says that much of the plot for his novel, ‘Eulogy’ came from his experience of delivering a eulogy for his father.[1]

While he was generally happy with the eulogy that he gave, he was left wishing that he had spoken about the most powerful moments that he had shared with his father.

Laser was talking about the moments of elation, grief and anger. He realises that it is hard to talk about these matters publicly but he shares this suggestion:

“If you find yourself preparing a eulogy—if your grief will allow it—consider including the stories that mean the most to you. The power of those memories will tell more about the person who has passed away than all the biographical details … If I’d told some of these stories at my father’s funeral, everyone in the memorial chapel would have known him in a different way …. They would have seen that he had been loved, fiercely.”[2]

Geoff Pound

[1] Michael Laser, Book, Eulogy.

[2] Michael Laser, ‘What I Should Have Said in my Father’s Eulogy,’ The Baltimore Sun, 18 May 2023.