All the Living and the Dead
From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life's Work
Ratings17
Average rating4.2
15
From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life's Work
Ratings17
Average rating4.2
A deeply compelling exploration of the death industry and the people—morticians, detectives, crime scene cleaners, embalmers, executioners—who work in it and what led them there. We are surrounded by death. It is in our news, our nursery rhymes, our true-crime podcasts. Yet from a young age, we are told that death is something to be feared. How are we supposed to know what we’re so afraid of, when we are never given the chance to look? Fueled by a childhood fascination with death, journalist Hayley Campbell searches for answers in the people who make a living by working with the dead. Along the way, she encounters mass fatality investigators, embalmers, and a former executioner who is responsible for ending sixty-two lives. She meets gravediggers who have already dug their own graves, visits a cryonics facility in Michigan, goes for late-night Chinese with a homicide detective, and questions a man whose job it is to make crime scenes disappear. Through Campbell’s incisive and candid interviews with these people who see death every day, she asks: Why would someone choose this kind of life? Does it change you as a person? And are we missing something vital by letting death remain hidden? A dazzling work of cultural criticism, All the Living and the Dead weaves together reportage with memoir, history, and philosophy, to offer readers a fascinating look into the psychology of Western death.
Reviews with the most likes.
Wallowing in death
drives her a little crazy
why is she surprised?
This book was beautiful and heartbreaking and life-affirming, while also being interesting and informative. I found myself contemplating becoming a funeral director, and wondering if I've always been a little goth at heart. Looking forward to reading more from Campbell in the future!
An absolutely fascinating look at life after death — the lives of all those who deal with the aftermath of death. The author speaks to all sorts of people in the “death industry,” from morticians to crime scene cleaners, and also learns a lot about her own response to death.
The audiobook is read by the author, who does an excellent job. It makes her personal journey hit just that little bit harder, I think.
I would recommend this to fans of pop-science like “Stiff” by Mary Roach and year-in-the-life bios like “The Year of Living Biblically” by A.J. Jacobs.
Disclaimer: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I just finished All The Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell and here are my thoughts.
This book was not what I was expecting. It is literally a non-fiction account of death and people who work in the industry with candid interviews and some quirky writing and I have to tell you, I was hooked. I have never been particularly interested in anything related to death, true crime but this book was a fascinating dive into areas I had no idea I could be entertained by.
I feel like we have been taught that death is something to fear and it doesn't elicit a conversation in the way it should. It almost feels like a taboo subject and I think this book opens that door to having an honest look at what death is and hopefully rid us of some of the anxiety and stress surrounding the topic.
Thank you @stmartinspress for gifting me a copy. I definitely enjoyed it and I passed my copy on to my husband in hopes he will get a better understanding of the subject.
5 stars
