A FUNERAL director has become a best selling author after writing her debut book.

Former doctor Sarah Jones hopes to break the taboo around death and get families talking about it.

Sarah has written Funerals Your Way - a Person-Centred Approach to Planning a Funeral. Just hours after its release the book is already riding high on Amazon as a number 1 bestseller. All proceeds will go to Leeds Bereavement Forum and local hospices.

Sarah, who set up Guiseley-based Full Circle Funerals two years ago, said: “Working as a doctor, and then in the social care industry before setting up my funeral directors, I have seen firsthand many, many times the impact when someone dies. This is never easy but it can be made so much more challenging when people have no idea where to start.

“I am on a mission to stop death and funerals being a taboo subject - to get us to all recognise that it is inevitable, and so would it not be better to express our wishes and give direction to the people who will be arranging our funeral? I’m hoping this book could be a really useful conversation starter, and that families will start chatting about it over a coffee to get the ball rolling.”

She added: “Both while working as a surgeon and supporting people to create funerals- I always felt that giving people the information and time they need could really help them. Since setting up Full Circle Funerals I have fully immersed myself into sharing my knowledge and the information, decision-making framework and suggestions in this book is an important part of that. The fact that it has become a bestseller so quickly shows that many people do want to know more about funerals and it feels like such a privilege to be able to give them the information they need to think about their own funeral wishes and to feel better able to engage in making funeral arrangements for others.”

Sarah wants to help her readers embrace individuality and she cites examples of home grown vegetables being incorporated into flower arrangements. Families have also chosen wicker or wool coffins to reflect a loved one’s passion for crafts, or have placed personal items such as a lollipop lady’s hat or a pair of walking boots on top of the coffin.

She said she was overwhelmed by the book’s success and added: “I am so taken aback by the response this has had and so grateful to the team at Authors & Co for their amazing support.”