Author : Norgus Press
Publisher : Norgus Press
Page : 184 pages
File Size : 30,31 MB
Release : 2011-10-01
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9780615545820
The Undertaker. After you have breathed your final breath the Undertaker prepares your body for the afterlife. They carry the burden of making you at ease in your new home for all eternity. The stories these brave men and women could tell! We have gathered but a few for you today in these pages. UNDERTAKER TALES IS A FICTIONAL ANTHOLOGY OF HORROR STORIES.
Author : Kenneth McKenzie
Publisher : Kensington Books
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 20,76 MB
Release : 2010
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0806531797
From rookie mistakes and runaway corpses to screaming dead men and unusual requests, a collection of stories by funeral directors.
Author : Robert Webster
Publisher : Sourcebooks, Inc.
Page : 249 pages
File Size : 47,89 MB
Release : 2011-05-01
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 1402250843
Why would someone want to hang out with dead bodies? With curious anecdotes and unbelievable truth, funeral director Robert Webster reveals that answer and more, offering readers entertaining and quirky stories gleaned from a life lived around death. Webster tackles those embarrassing questions we all have about what really goes on bhind the scenes when you've left this world: Strange things people put in caskets The biggest rip-offs in the business The crazy things that happen to a body after death Lime, waz, and other ways to hide the truth The most important thing an undertaker does How to avoid the high-pressure funeral parlor What that's not a coffin the body is resting in
Author : Caleb Wilde
Publisher : HarperCollins
Page : 164 pages
File Size : 11,40 MB
Release : 2017-09-26
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 0062465260
“Wise, vulnerable, and surprisingly relatable . . . funny in all the right places and enormously helpful throughout. It will change how you think about death.” —Rachel Held Evans, New York Times–bestselling author of Searching for Sunday 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 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’s candid memoir offers an intimate look into the business of death and a new perspective on living and dying. “Open[s] up conversations about life’s ultimate concerns.” —The Washington Post “As a look behind the closed doors of the death industry, as well as a candid exploration of Wilde’s own faith journey, this book is fascinating and compelling.” —National Catholic Reporter “[A] stunner of a debut.” —Rachel Held Evans, author of Inspired
Author : Kenneth McKenzie
Publisher : Citadel
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 43,57 MB
Release : 2014-06-01
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0806536659
Discover a more lighthearted side of the funeral industry in this collection of real-life stories from the authors of Mortuary Confidential. Not knowing what to do, I sat on the church steps and waited. As the gravity of my failure began to well up in me, I began to cry . . . I Had Lost The Hearse! Funerals and the all the things that accompany them are traditionally somber, contemplative events in which the bereaved look to their undertaker to guide them through that most difficult of times. Of course, sometimes tradition gets thrown under the bus. From a dysfunctional family who turn their mother’s wake into a full-blown riot, to funeral crashers looking for free meals, to a horse-drawn hearse taking the dearly departed for the ride of their afterlife, these accounts from actual undertakers will have you laughing, thinking, and gasping in disbelief. A literal graveyard of wild coincidences, slapstick humor, and touching moments, Over Our Dead Bodies explores the lighter side of the dead, the living, and the lone undertaker who must make it all go as planned—even if it doesn’t. Praise for Mortuary Confidential “Outrageous funeral stories, dipped in beauty and morbid humor.” —Caleb Wilde, author of Confessions of a Funeral Director “Curious, wildly honest stories that need to be told, but just not at the dinner table.” —Dana Kollmann, author of Never Suck a Dead Man’s Hand “As unpredictable and lively as a bunch of drunks at a New Orleans funeral.” —Joe R. Lansdale, author of Moon Lake “Sick, funny, and brilliant! I love this book.” —Jonathan Maberry, Bram Stoker Award–winning author of They Bite! And Rot & Ruin “These true mortuary tales are poignant—and suddenly, gaspi
Author : June Knights Nadle
Publisher : New World Library
Page : 154 pages
File Size : 32,89 MB
Release : 2010-10-04
Category : Self-Help
ISBN : 1577318579
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.
Author : Mariah de la Croix
Publisher : Llewellyn Worldwide
Page : 132 pages
File Size : 29,90 MB
Release : 2012-09-08
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 0738733601
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.
Author : Caitlin Doughty
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Page : 175 pages
File Size : 31,52 MB
Release : 2014-09-15
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0393245950
"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).
Author :
Publisher :
Page : 756 pages
File Size : 38,61 MB
Release : 1861
Category : Fiction
ISBN :
Author : Julian M. Watson
Publisher : Austin Macauley Publishers
Page : 195 pages
File Size : 34,12 MB
Release : 2024-06-21
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1035855097
In the engrossing memoir So Far So What!, Julian M. Watson takes readers on an unforgettable journey into the world of funeral directing, offering a candid and often humorous look at his experiences from 1976 to 1988. From his hesitant beginnings as a 26-year-old thrust into the family business to the poignant moments shared with grieving families, Watson’s narrative is both heartfelt and entertaining. As the great-great-grandson of the founder, he finds himself navigating the streets of ‘Ackney’ in a Rolls-Royce hearse, encountering challenges that range from comical to deeply moving. Through Watson’s eyes, we witness the delicate balance between reverence for the departed and the practicalities of the trade. Whether he’s learning to drive a hearse with minimal instruction or facing the grim reality of a long-deceased body awaiting removal, each chapter is filled with moments that will linger in the reader’s mind long after the book is closed. With a keen eye for detail and a sharp wit, Watson paints a vivid portrait of life beside the grave, introducing us to a colourful cast of characters who populate his world. From his diminutive yet wise Uncle Bob to the eccentric colleagues who share his profession, each person adds depth and dimension to the narrative, offering insights into the complexities of human nature and the bonds that unite us in both life and death. So Far So What! is more than just a memoir—it’s a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of laughter to illuminate even the darkest of times. Whether you’re a seasoned funeral director or simply curious about the inner workings of the industry, this book is sure to captivate and inspire. Join Julian M. Watson on a journey you won’t soon forget, and discover the extraordinary stories that lie within the world of undertakers.
