Download or read book Smoke Gets in Your Eyes And Other Lessons from the Crematory written by Caitlin Doughty and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2014-09-15 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Morbid and illuminating" (Entertainment Weekly)—a young mortician goes behind the scenes of her curious profession. Armed with a degree in medieval history and a flair for the macabre, Caitlin Doughty took a job at a crematory and turned morbid curiosity into her life’s work. She cared for bodies of every color, shape, and affliction, and became an intrepid explorer in the world of the dead. In this best-selling memoir, brimming with gallows humor and vivid characters, she marvels at the gruesome history of undertaking and relates her unique coming-of-age story with bold curiosity and mordant wit. By turns hilarious, dark, and uplifting, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes reveals how the fear of dying warps our society and "will make you reconsider how our culture treats the dead" (San Francisco Chronicle).

Download or read book The Undertaking Life Studies from the Dismal Trade written by Thomas Lynch and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2010-03-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A National Book Award Finalist: "One of the most life-affirming books I have read in a long time…brims with humanity, irreverence, and invigorating candor." —Tom Vanderbilt, The Nation "Every year I bury a couple hundred of my townspeople." So opens this singular and wise testimony. Like all poets, inspired by death, Thomas Lynch is, unlike others, also hired to bury the dead or to cremate them and to tend to their families in a small Michigan town where he serves as the funeral director. In the conduct of these duties he has kept his eyes open, his ear tuned to the indispensable vernaculars of love and grief. In these twelve pieces his is the voice of both witness and functionary. Here, Lynch, poet to the dying, names the hurts and whispers the condolences and shapes the questions posed by this familiar mystery. So here is homage to parents who have died and to children who shouldn't have. Here are golfers tripping over grave markers, gourmands and hypochondriacs, lovers and suicides. These are the lessons for life our mortality teaches us.

Download or read book Confessions of a Funeral Director written by Caleb Wilde and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2017-09-26 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The blogger behind Confessions of a Funeral Director—what Time magazine called a "must read"—reflects on mortality and the powerful lessons death holds for every one of us in this compassionate and thoughtful spiritual memoir that combines the humor and insight of Smoke Gets in Your Eyes with the poignancy and brevity of When Breath Becomes Air. We are a people who deeply fear death. While humans are biologically wired to evade death for as long as possible, we have become too adept at hiding from it, vilifying it, and—when it can be avoided no longer—letting the professionals take over. Sixth-generation funeral director Caleb Wilde understands this reticence and fear. He had planned to get as far away from the family business as possible. He wanted to make a difference in the world, and how could he do that if all the people he worked with were . . . dead? Slowly, he discovered that caring for the deceased and their loved ones was making a difference—in other people’s lives to be sure, but it also seemed to be saving his own. A spirituality of death began to emerge as he observed: The family who lovingly dressed their deceased father for his burial The act of embalming a little girl that offered a gift back to her grieving family The nursing home that honored a woman’s life by standing in procession as her body was taken away The funeral that united a conflicted community Through stories like these, told with equal parts humor and poignancy, Wilde offers an intimate look into the business and a new perspective on living and dying

Download or read book Starvation Heights written by Gregg Olsen and published by Crown. This book was released on 2005-05-03 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this true story—a haunting saga of medical murder set in an era of steamships and gaslights—Gregg Olsen reveals one of the most unusual and disturbing criminal cases in American history. In 1911 two wealthy British heiresses, Claire and Dora Williamson, arrived at a sanitorium in the forests of the Pacific Northwest to undergo the revolutionary “fasting treatment” of Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard. It was supposed to be a holiday for the two sisters, but within a month of arriving at what the locals called Starvation Heights, the women underwent brutal treatments and were emaciated shadows of their former selves. Claire and Dora were not the first victims of Linda Hazzard, a quack doctor of extraordinary evil and greed. But as their jewelry disappeared and forged bank drafts began transferring their wealth to Hazzard’s accounts, the sisters came to learn that Hazzard would stop at nothing short of murder to achieve her ambitions.

Download or read book Complying with the Funeral Rule written by United States. Federal Trade Commission and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2000 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Mortician Diaries written by June Knights Nadle and published by New World Library. This book was released on 2010-10-04 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After 50 years in the funeral business, 80-year-old grandmother-undertaker June Knights Nadle has seen it all — at least all of what goes on before, during, and after life’s ultimate challenge. In Mortician Diaries, she combines equal doses of charm, humanity, humor, and reality to tell it like it is on this taboo subject. A kind of Prairie Home Companion set in a mortuary, the book features memorable stories of regret — “I wish I had kissed him on the morning he had the accident” — and renewal, as the lesson of facing life’s last great event is learned, or not. Some of the accounts here are funny, some sad. Some are haunting in their strangeness as they reveal the many ways in which people cope. Along the way, the reader is drawn into Nadle’s own life story as an unconventional woman who devoted herself to the dead and to those they left behind.

Download or read book Mortician Life written by Neo Coloration and published by . This book was released on 2020-10-27 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Morticians, also known as undertakers, funeral directors, or "death service" professionals, prepare bodies for burial or cremation, and they arrange the details of the funeral service and other end-of-life matters. They own compassion, as well as good interpersonal, business and time-management skills. They also have knowledge of laws and ethics regarding funeral service and preparations. Working as a Mortician isn't easy and can be very stressful. Studies have shown that coloring is one of the best stress-relieving activities that help you stay inspired and in the moment. Feel relaxed and melts stress away if you want to continue to function at your best. Enjoy the snarky Mortician Life with each page you color. This coloring book contains funny and humorous Mortician-related designs and sayings surrounded by intricate details, beautiful patterns, mandalas, and flowers, etc... Perfect Gift for Morticians - Humorous Coloring book for Grown-Ups Features: Large 8 1/2 by 11-inch paper (22cm x 28cm) pages. Single-sided pages for easy removal and no bleed-through. Printed on pure white paper, 60lb-pound stock. Contains 25 unique illustrations. 2 Color test pages at the back of the book.

Download or read book The Embalmer written by Anne-Reneé Caillé and published by Coach House Books. This book was released on 2018-11-27 with total page 79 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A small-town embalmer's daughter lifts the shroud on the fascinating minutiae of dealing with the dead. Imagine rubbing shoulders with the dead for most of your life. As she picks the brain of her father for the most gruesome and thought-provoking secrets of his embalming career - from the drowned boy whose organs were eaten by eels to how to inject just the right amount of colour into a corpse's skin for that blushing look - the narrator must look her parents' deaths, and her relationship with them, straight in the eye. Quietly poetic, The Embalmer glimpses at something most would rather look away from.

Download or read book The Chick and the Dead written by Carla Valentine and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2017-06-13 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Using the most common post-mortem process as the backbone of the narrative, [this book] takes the reader through the process of an autopsy while also describing the history and changing cultures of our relationship with the dead. The book [examines] what happens to our bodies in the end. Each chapter considers an aspect of an autopsy alongside an aspect of Carla's own life and work and touches on some of the more controversial aspects of our feelings towards death, including the relationship between sex and death and our attitudes toward human tissue collection"--

Download or read book Final Rights written by Joshua Slocum and published by Square One Publishers, Inc.. This book was released on 2021-10-19 with total page 771 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Josh Slocum and Lisa Carlson are the two most prominent advocates of consumer rights in dealing with the death industry. Here they combine efforts to inform consumers of their rights and propose long-needed reforms. Slocum is executive director of Funeral Consumers Alliance, a national nonprofit with over 90 local affiliates nationwide. Carlson is executive director of Funeral Ethics Organization, which works with the industry to try to improve ethical standards. In addition to nationwide issues, the book covers state-by-state information needed by anybody who wishes to take charge of funeral arrangements for a loved one, with or without the help of a funeral director. More information about the book and related issues can be found at www.finalrights.org .

Download or read book Restless in Peace written by Mariah de la Croix and published by Llewellyn Worldwide. This book was released on 2012-09-08 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A deceased undertaker still carries out his life’s work. The spirit of a nun comforts mourners. Red carnations materialize from nowhere . . . Spooky Stories from the Dismal Trade Alternately hair-raising, creepy, and touching, Mariah de la Croix’s encounters with the supernatural during her tenure as a mortician are both chilling and unforgettable. Restless in Peace recounts her true experiences working in funeral homes—and the resident spirits’ frightening, bizarre, and sometimes amusing behaviors. From the angry spirit who follows her home after work to the deceased man who likes to communicate through a microphone, this book offers a rare glimpse of living and working among the spirited dead.

Download or read book Grave Undertakings written by Alexandra K. Mosca and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author is very candid about her unconventional career choice and reveals the shocking and eye-opening truth of what really goes on behind the closed doors of your neighborhood funeral parlor.

Download or read book From Here to Eternity Traveling the World to Find the Good Death written by Caitlin Doughty and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2017-10-03 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times and Los Angeles Times Bestseller “Doughty chronicles [death] practices with tenderheartedness, a technician’s fascination, and an unsentimental respect for grief.” —Jill Lepore, The New Yorker Fascinated by our pervasive fear of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty embarks on a global expedition to discover how other cultures care for the dead. From Zoroastrian sky burials to wish-granting Bolivian skulls, she investigates the world’s funerary customs and expands our sense of what it means to treat the dead with dignity. Her account questions the rituals of the American funeral industry—especially chemical embalming—and suggests that the most effective traditions are those that allow mourners to personally attend to the body of the deceased. Exquisitely illustrated by artist Landis Blair, From Here to Eternity is an adventure into the morbid unknown, a fascinating tour through the unique ways people everywhere confront mortality.

Download or read book Mortuary Confidential written by Todd Harra and published by Citadel. This book was released on 2021-12-28 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From rookie mistakes and runaway corpses to screaming dead men and unusual requests, a collection of stories by funeral directors.

Download or read book Occupations Code written by Texas and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Mortician s Apprentice written by Richard L. Perez and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2014-06-21 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There has always been a "mystique" concerning the mysteries surrounding death - especially those activities regarding the functions of those who become responsible for the examination, treatment and disposition of the dead body. The study of such matters is called "Thanatology." This book reveals the life of a person who, from a very young age, has experienced various facets of the death process including, autopsies and mortuary operations. This is an eye-opening treatise on the various activities which surround the processing of a human body for its final disposition: this book includes, the description of the normal Autopsy (done by regular pathologists who seek to learn more about disease) as well as the Forensic Autopsy (regarding deaths from unnatural causes such as suicide, homicide accidental, etc. causes) performed by a Medical Examiner's examiner. The book further enters into the world of the mortician and the aspects of body management he/she must perform. There is also a discussion about various religious rituals which are the con-cern of the Funeral Director who must plan a proper service or memorial. Body preparation is a major aspect of the morticians's work - the book will describe the step-by-step process of this function and a discussion regarding caskets, cremation, urns a cemeteries and the various types of final disposition types is included. This book is suitable for anyone considering a career in an aspect of thanatology or for anyone who has had the curiosity as to what actually happens behind those closed doors. It also serves as a starting point for further discussion on death and dying. It is an attempt to 'unlock' the mysteries of the death "business" to help us to better understand and accept the fact that we are faced with the possibility of death regarding our family loved ones, friends, and even ourselves. It reminds us of our own mortality and how we will prepare for the inevitable. It is also a reminder that we can anticipate our own death and realize that there are people trained to care for our physical bodies and also a reminder that we should also prepare for our spiritual departure. The last chapter of this book relates a different aspect of work in the mortuary. Yes, as in any occupation, there are humorous things which occur while working in this serious business. The book closes with a sequence of humorous stories surrounding the work of the author during his tenure in the thanatology business. These stories are true as they occurred with the author, but, it is certain, other people in this business can also relate humorous stories from their experiences..

Download or read book Mortuary Science written by John Szabo and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2002 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Szabo presents a thorough bibliographical examination of the funeral industry and related subjects. Most citations are annotated, with special notes on editions and reprints.