undertakers and undertaking

The author presents a memoir that describes her dysfunctional family and childhood as well as her friendship with the daughter of the town's local mortician.

"A good friend will bury your body, a best friend will dig you back up. Dino doesn't mind spending time with the dead. His parents own a funeral home, and death is literally the family business. He's just not used to them talking back. Until Dino's ex-best friend July dies suddenly--and then comes back to life. Except not exactly. Somehow July is not quite alive, and not quite dead. As Dino and July attempt to figure out what's happening, they must also confront why and how their friendship ended so badly, and what they have left to understand about themselves, each other, and all those grand mysteries of life"--Provided by publisher.

"Against the wishes of his mortician mother, Hadorah, twelve-year-old Walter and classmate Cordelia take a hearse on a road trip to meet legendary inventor Flasterborn, who once mentored Walter's long-dead father"--OCLC.

Walter Mortinson s unusual inventions cause nothing but trouble. After one of his contraptions throws the town into chaos, Walter s mother demands he join the family mortuary business. When a letter arrives by unusual means offering Walter an apprenticeship, it isn t long before Walter decides to flee Moormouth to meet his destiny.

The last thing twelve-year-old Christopher "Kip" Campbell wants is to take over the funeral business that has been in his family for generations, but he is the only Campbell heir and seems to have a calling to help the dead and their survivors in a most unusual way.

After the disappearance of his father, Pin Carpue accepts a job as a corpse watcher and meets the bone magician who claims to be able to raise the dead.

Explores the history of mummies, including the embalming process and the current research.

Dino and July, seventeen, are granted time to resolve what was left unfinished between them after July's sudden death, one year after their friendship ended over Dino's new relationship.

Describes death customs and rituals from around the world, exploring how they compare to the impersonal American system and how mourners respond best when they participate in caring for the deceased.

The author's job at a crematory became her career. She cared for bodies of every color, shape, and size. She marvels at the complexities of undertaking and her memoir is by turns hilarious, dark, and uplifting, and shows how the fear of dying warps our society.