All the Living and the Dead : A Personal Investigation Into the Death Trade

'essential, Compassionate, Honest' - Audrey Niffenegger, International Bestselling Author Of The Time Traveler's Wife 'a Gentle Book And Like Death Itself, Sometimes An Unexpectedly Kind One' - Neil Gaiman 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? Fuelled By A Childhood Fascination With Death, Journalist Hayley Campbell Searches For Answers From The People Who Choose To Make A Living By Working With The Dead. Along The Way, Campbell Encounters Funeral Directors, Embalmers, A Man Who Dissects Cadavers For Anatomy Students, And A Former Executioner Who Is Responsible For Ending 62 Lives. She Sits In A Van With Gravediggers Who Have Already Dug Their Own Graves, Holds A Brain At An Autopsy, Visits A Cryonics Facility In Michigan, And Goes For Late-night Chinese With A Homicide Detective. Through Campbell's Probing, Reverent Interviews With These People Who See Death Every Day, Campbell Pieces Together The Psychic Jigsaw To Ask: Why Would Someone Choose A Life Of Working With The Dead? And What Does Dealing With Death Every Day Do To You As A Person? 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. 'this Is An Absorbing And Important Book, Seeking Out Stories So Many Shy Away From And Telling Them With Such Respect, Humanity, Heart And, Yes, Wit. Without Exaggeration, An Awe-inspiring Achievement' Nigella Lawson 'a Gentle Book And, Like Death Itself, Sometimes An Unexpectedly Kind One' - Neil Gaiman 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? Fuelled 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 62 Lives. She Meets Gravediggers Who Have Already Dug Their Own Graves, Visits A Cryonics Facility In Michigan, Goes For Late-night Chinese With A 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. 'campbell Is A Gorgeous Writer, Capturing The Exquisite Pathos And Gallows Humour Found In Folks Who Spend Their Lives Working With The Dead' - Caitlin Doughty, New York Times Bestselling Author Of Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

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.

"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" -- Provided by publisher 'A superlative piece of writing... provocative, loving and profound' THE TIMES 'Without exaggeration, an awe-inspiring achievement' NIGELLA LAWSON 'Moving, funny, and liable to unexpectedly cause me to tear up' NEIL GAIMAN An Irish Times Book of the Year In this profoundly moving and remarkable book, journalist Hayley Campbell explores society's attitudes towards death, and the impact on those who work with it every day. 'If the reason we're outsourcing this burden is because it's too much for us,' she asks, 'how do they deal with it?' Would facing death directly make us fear it less? Inspired by her own childhood fascination with the subject, she meets embalmers and a former death row executioner, mass fatality investigators and a bereavement midwife. She talks to gravediggers who have already dug their own graves and questions a man whose job it is to make crime scenes disappear. Through Campbell's incisive and candid interviews with people who see death every day, she asks: Does seeing death change you as a person? And are we all missing something vital by letting death remain hidden? 'Essential, compassionate, honest' Audrey Niffenegger, author of THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE 'Never macabre... poignant... Transformative ' FINANCIAL TIMES "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? Fuelled by a childhood fascination with death, journalist Hayley Campbell searches for answers from the people who choose to 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, and goes for late-night Chinese with a detective, and questions a man whose job it is to make crime scenes disappear. Through Campbell's incisive and candid interviews with 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?"-- Cover Half Title Title Copyright Dedication Epigraph Contents Introduction The Edge of Mortality The Gift Click Your Fingers and They Turn to Stone Limbo The Horror Dining with the Executioner None of This Is Forever Love and Terror Tough Mother Earth to Earth The Devil’s Coachman The Hopeful Dead Afterword Notes Further Reading Index Acknowledgements