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There are about 144,000 burial grounds in the United States—10 times the number of McDonald’s and 8 times the number of Starbucks in the nation, according to author Greg Melville. And he believes each one has its own story.

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Photo: gregmelville.com

Greg Melville describes himself as an author, adventure journalist and tombstone tourist.

The summer before his senior year in college, Melville worked at the cemetery in his hometown. As he spent hours mowing grass and observing families come and go, he realized that cemeteries are places that have mirrored the past eras of history but have also shaped them. He began to be fascinated with how, where and why we bury and commemorate our dead.

In his new book, Over My Dead Body: Unearthing the Hidden History of America’s Cemeteries, he takes readers on a tour of numerous cemeteries across the nation, including three in Virginia — The 1607 Burial Ground in Historic Jamestown, Monticello’s African American Graveyard in Charlottesville, and Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington. Along the way he also explores sustainability, land use, what it really means to memorialize a life and the environmental impact of current burial methods.

In this interview with Watching America host Dr. Alan Campbell, Melville discusses some of the most famous U.S. cemeteries and what he has learned about them. He also explores the growing trend of people choosing a more natural burial—abandoning burial vaults, caskets and embalming—as a way to become one with nature.

As some cities and cemeteries start to run low on space, the author says Americans will need to rethink their death rituals and practices. “Land is a finite resource,” Melville explains. “There are a lot of decisions that are going to need to be made in the not too distant future.”

Rather than focus so much money and attention on how to commemorate the dead, he suggests focusing on the living.

“We really need to have a perspective on what we do in life. And that's so much more important than how we preserve ourselves in death.”

Melville’s previous books include the popular environmental book Greasy Rider and the travel guide 101 Best Outdoor Towns. Find him at gregmelville.com

Listen to the full interview Friday at noon on WHRV 89.5 FM. You can also stream it live.