The Coffin Confessor: Unveiling your secrets from beyond the grave

Have you got a secret or departing words you want to share with family or friends, but don’t have the courage to disclose while you are alive?

For some, conversations around end of life are not easy, and may bring up things that have not been expressed before. Revealing something you have kept closely guarded can cause further distress, on top of coming to terms with your approaching death.

Bill Edgar, also known as ‘The Coffin Confessor’, offers people an alternative approach to disclosing their secrets and granting the dead with their final say.

Bill crashes funerals on behalf of the deceased to come clean about secrets and regrets – and sometimes even devastating truths they were reluctant to share during their lifetime.

People are prompted to write a statement covering what they wish Bill to share, which is then signed by both parties and placed in an envelope. The details inside the envelope are read aloud by Bill during the funeral ceremony.

Those who approach Bill are close to dying. They may be concerned about not having the chance to leave a message for those left behind once they are gone, or perhaps they fear what their loved ones may think or say.

“It started as a bit of a joke, with a terminally ill man named Graham,” Bill explains. “Graham had been to many funerals where the eulogies just weren’t read.” Bill suggested Graham write his own eulogy and offered to crash the funeral.

This method may seem intimidating for some people, being unsure how family and friends will react when truths or secrets are revealed. However, for Graham, he was weak and told Bill that “at the end of the day it’s my funeral”.

As ‘The Coffin Confessor’, Bill indicates he has “no care or concern for those left behind.” As a third party, with no relation to the attendees of the funeral, his job is to do well by the deceased.

Let’s not forget that funerals are a means of remembering and honouring the life of the deceased, in a way that best represents that person, and in the format they would have desired. Bill stresses the importance of talking about death and end of life to ensure your farewell is planned according to your wishes.

His book, ‘The Coffin Confessor’, has been successful in encouraging people to talk more openly about death, and in turn increasing death literacy within the community.

“It’s a good thing that more people are talking about death, as we will all eventually die,” he says.

While increasing death literacy doesn’t necessarily change how people feel about their mortality, working to minimise anxiety and fear by having conversations regarding the concept of death, could help us better navigate its challenging nature.

The sad reality is, however, that we live in a judgemental world. Often we may feel as if we can’t communicate how we feel, or divulge our authentic self, in fear of disapproval from those around us.

Challenging these notions, Bill asks: “Why can’t we all just be true to ourselves, because then you wouldn’t need me to do so in your place upon your passing?”

Whether you choose to share thoughts or secrets while you are alive, or engage someone to do so after you die, Bill suggests that leaving the world on a clean slate, just like you entered it, will provide a sense of closure and relief.

About Bill Edgar

He does what most won’t, can’t or fear to do, it’s not for the faint of heart or those that fear litigation.
Bill Edgar is a Private Detective unlike any-other he’s engaged by those knocking on deaths door to crash their funerals and let the skeletons out of their closets.