How do you feel about death?

Does thinking about funerals, burials, and other details around the end of life make you nervous? Uncomfortable?

For author Hayley Campbell, death has been a subject of curiosity from a young age. Not just the physical and scientific facts but also the emotional and psychological aspects. So intrigued by the subject, she wrote ALL THE LIVING AND THE DEAD.

Campbell’s book explores the world of the dying and deceased through the perspectives of the living around them. She interviews and details her conversations and interactions with grave diggers and funeral directors, midwives and executioners, creators of death masks, and those who perform autopsies, just to name a few. The chapters are deeply personal in an impersonal way. (How else to describe something like preparing the body of a stranger for a funeral service viewing?) Some passages dip into the macabre, but all told, ALL THE LIVING AND THE DEAD is a respectful and insightful look at the people tasked with handling the physical remains of other human beings. It’s a thought-provoking book written with deep sensitivity and consideration.