‘The Unclaimed’ Spotlights the Stories Behind the Abandoned Dead of LA County

Every year a ceremony is held at Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles for the county’s unclaimed deceased; the most recent ceremony, held in December, honored nearly 1500 people. In a new book sociologists Pamela Prickett and Stefan Timmermans tell the stories of four of the deceased and how they came to be laid to rest in a common grave after their ashes were left behind. We’ll talk about what makes people vulnerable to going unclaimed after they die, and hear about the people who are working to ensure they all receive a dignified burial. Their book is “The Unclaimed: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels.”