Confessions of a Funeral Director

Author: Caleb Wilde
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062465260
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 164

Book Description
“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

Mortuary Confidential

Author: Kenneth McKenzie
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 0806531797
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
From rookie mistakes and runaway corpses to screaming dead men and unusual requests, a collection of stories by funeral directors.

Does This Mean You'll See Me Naked?

Author: Robert Webster
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1402250843
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 249

Book Description
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

The Day the Angels Fell

Author: Shawn Smucker
Publisher: Revell
ISBN: 1493411071
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 295

Book Description
It was the summer of storms and strays and strangers. The summer that lightning struck the big oak tree in the front yard. The summer his mother died in a tragic accident. As he recalls the tumultuous events that launched a surprising journey, Samuel can still hardly believe it all happened. After his mother's death, twelve-year-old Samuel Chambers would do anything to bring her back. Prompted by three strange carnival fortune-tellers and the surfacing of his mysterious and reclusive neighbor, Sam begins his search for the Tree of Life--the only thing that could possibly bring his mother back. His quest to defeat death entangles him and his best friend Abra in an ancient conflict and forces Sam to grapple with an unwelcome question: could it be possible that death is a gift? Haunting and hypnotic, The Day the Angels Fell explores the difficult questions of life in a voice that is fresh, friendly, and unafraid. With this powerful story, Shawn Smucker has carved out a spot for himself in the tradition of authors Madeleine L'Engle and Lois Lowry.

The Coffin Confessor

Author: Bill Edgar
Publisher: Penguin Group Australia
ISBN: 176014570X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Book Description
Imagine you are dying with a secret. Something you’ve never had the courage to tell your friends and family. Or a last wish – a task you need carried out before you can rest in peace. Now imagine there’s a man who can take care of all that, who has no respect for the living, who will do anything for the dead. Bill Edgar is the Coffin Confessor – a one-of-a-kind professional, a man on a mission to make good on these last requests on behalf of his soon-to-be-deceased clients. And this is the extraordinary story of how he became that man. Bill has been many things in this life: son of one of Australia’s most notorious gangsters, homeless street-kid, maximum-security prisoner, hard man, family man, car thief, professional punching bag, philosopher, inventor, private investigator, victim of horrific childhood sexual abuse and an activist fighting to bring down the institutions that let it happen. A survivor. As a little boy, he learned the hard way that society is full of people who fall through the cracks – who die without their stories being told. Now his life’s work is to make sure his clients’ voices are heard, and their last wishes delivered: the small-town grandfather who needs his tastefully decorated sex dungeon destroyed before the kids find it. The woman who endured an abusive marriage for decades before finding freedom. The outlaw biker who is afraid of nothing . . . except telling the world he is in love with another man. The dad who desperately needs to track down his estranged daughter so he can find a way to say he's sorry, with one final gift. Confronting and confounding, heartwarming and heartbreaking, The Coffin Confessor is a compelling story of survival and redemption, of a life lived on the fringes of society, on both sides of the law – and what that can teach you about living your best life . . . and death.

Fall Guys

Author: Jim Fisher
Publisher: SIU Press
ISBN: 9780809320691
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 312

Book Description
Too young to prosecute, Charlie Zubryd was adopted after his confession and a brief stay in a mental ward. A childless couple gave Zubryd a new name and identity. It would be twenty years before Charlie Zubryd - now going by the name Chuck Duffy - would have any contact with his blood family. When Zubyrd/Duffy made an effort to get his real family back, he was rejected because his relatives still believed he had murdered his mother. Until Fisher began to investigate the case in 1989, Chuck Duffy was not sure he had not killed his mother during some kind of mental blackout.

I’ll Be Watching You

Author: Tina Wainscott
Publisher: Written Musings
ISBN: 1945143746
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 408

Book Description
Her grandmother's murder brings her back to the town she fled years ago to reclaim her home and unearth the truth … while a killer watches her every move. Ten years ago, Kim testified against her rich stepfather in a local girl’s murder. When he was acquitted, the hostile and disbelieving residents forced her to leave town. Now, her grandmother's mysterious death brings her back to her small Everglades town, where they’re happy to show her how unwelcome she is. The last person she’d expect to protect her is Zell MacGregor, the sexy, laid-back son of the man against whom she testified. And Zell’s the last person she’d ever expect to fall for. But as they dig into the secrets of the past, their growing attraction makes their present much more dangerous. Zell has a killer smile … but can he save her from a murderer?

Over Our Dead Bodies:

Author: Kenneth McKenzie
Publisher: Citadel
ISBN: 0806536659
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
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

Deathbed Confessions of the Criminally Insane

Author: Jack Steen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781520889184
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Book Description
My name is Jack Steen. That name shouldn't mean anything to you. Unless you're about to die. And then I'm your bloody guardian angel. I work as a night nurse in hospital for the criminally insane. You picked up this book because of the title, right? Deathbed Confessions of the Criminally Insane. That's exactly what you're about to read. You're about to read the first three stories of my 'collection'. The Well MarkerThe Funeral DirectorThe BabysitterMy name is the only real name you'll find in this book. I won't tell you which hospital I work at. I won't tell you the names of those dying.But I won't lie to you.You'll read exactly what I'm told. If you're smart, if you're deranged enough to read between the lines, you'll know who is telling the story.These sadistic bastards could be playing their final game with me by messing with my head. Now, maybe they're messing with yours too.Basically, I'm starting you off with the easiest story. - Bucket from the Well Marker was probably my favorite patient/inmate. - The Funeral Director isn't for those with a weak stomach. OR if you've recently attended a funeral.- The Babysitter...well, let's just say Ken is a sick fuck and there's no love loss between the two of us. You can get each confession as it's own book or read them here in this one. There will be more confessions coming so if you like what you read, you'll want to keep an eye out.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory

Author: Caitlin Doughty
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393245950
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 175

Book Description
"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).