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Confessions of a Funeral Director
Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life | Caleb Wilde
29 posts | 12 read | 40 to read
The blogger behind Confessions of a Funeral Directorwhat Time magazine called a "must read"reflects on mortality and the powerful lessons death holds for every one of us in this compassionate and thoughtful spiritual memoir that combines the humor and insight of Smoke Gets in Your Eyes with the poignancy and brevity of When Breath Becomes Air. Death. It happens to everyone, yet most of us dont want to talk about this final chapter of existence. Sixth-generation funeral director Caleb Wilde intimately understands this reticence and fear. The son of an undertaker, he hesitated to embrace the legacy of running his familys business. Yet he discovered that caring for the deceased and their loved ones profoundly changed his faith and his perspective on deathand life itself. "Yes, death can be bad. Yes, death can be negative," he acknowledges, "but it can also be beautiful. And that alternate narrative needs to be discussed." In Confessions of a Funeral Director, he talks about his experiences and pushes back against the death-negative ethos of our culture, opening a thoughtful, poignant conversation to help us see the end of life in a positive and liberating way. In the wry, compassionate, and honest voice that has charmed his growing legions of blog readers, Wilde offers an intimate look inside his business, offering information on unspoken practices around death such as the embalming process, beautiful and memorable stories about families in the wake of death, and, most importantly, a fresh and wise perspective on how embracing death can allow us to embrace life. Confessions of a Funeral Director is the story of one man learning how death illuminates and deepens the meaning of existenceinsights that can help us all pursue and cherish full, rich lives.
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Nikki_E
Pickpick

Enjoyable listen. I need to see if his blog is still around.

perfectsinner Woot, on my want to reads list 2y
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all_4_kb
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Another gem for the mortuary student that I am.....

perfectsinner on my want to reads list 3y
carlthecattt We have very similar reading tastes, and it has been a dream of mine to become a mortician since I was a kid but the amount of school turns me away. Best of luck to you with your career! 💛💛 3y
all_4_kb @carlthecattt it is a lot!! 2 down, 2.5 more to go!!! And I love that. I‘ll be looking at your picks and add some books to read!! 😊 3y
Ephemera You might like Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlyn Doughty; also Down Among the Dead Men by Michelle Williams 13mo
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Eggbeater
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Panpan

I thought this book was poorly set up. The writing structure didn't flow. Not only that, but the author was big on platitudes and cliches and seemed unaware of it. Heavy on religion, low on humor, the writing was flowery and not my cup of tea. However, if it helps anyone cope with their grief, then it is important. I personally hate-read it.

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Eggbeater
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Just a few chapters in and I have a feeling I about to hate-read this book. It's full off cliche twaddle and platitudes. A Hallmark card could have written it.

Megabooks “I thought I was livin‘ to die, but really I was...dyin‘ to live!” I don‘t think I could read it! 4y
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rather_be_reading
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Sounded good to me!! Another good October book!

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MelAnn
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1. Confessions of a Funeral Director (tagged)
2. Have 1 aunt.
3. 🐜
4. Blueberry protein shake
5. 🖐🏻👋🏻🖐🏻 to my most recent followers! @Bookquilter @Amabear @Mrs_Organized_Chaos @caro.en @12parsecs

#friyayintro

Amabear 🙌🏻✌🏻 6y
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MelAnn
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This may not seem like a lot - but this is more books than I finished in 2017! (I start a lot and don‘t finish so this year is about the finish line!) 3 books of poetry, 1 Memoir & 1 lust read.

Favorite: Confessions of a Funeral Director!

January I had total of three books - one hardback and two audio so... February was better! March I hope to be more consistent - just have had a lot going on!

#February #monthlystats #monthlywrapup #FebStats

Lynnsoprano Five is what I did, too, and I‘m happy with that. 6y
MelAnn @Lynnsoprano I am excited because I am actually finishing books for a change! 6y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa That‘s wonderful then! That‘s how I started reading more, just a little bit more every year, and slowly it becomes a good habit and it starts growing exponentially.... of course all those Litsy recommendations don‘t hurt either! 6y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa And I found I did better at finishing once I started reading more than one book/type of book at a time. Sometimes when the serious book begans to drag, instead of putting it down for weeks or forever, pick up something gripping for awhile and then try the one that was dragging again. For me it worked, just like I don‘t watch all drama or all comedy, variety made reading more enjoyable and therefore go smoother for me. 6y
MelAnn @Riveted_Reader_Melissa oh yes! I always have more than one book going at a time! 6y
Ashley85 @Riveted_Reader_Melissa That works for me too! 6y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Ashley85 It was definitely the secret for me! 6y
britt_brooke Nicely done! 6y
CSeydel @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Same ❤️👌🏼 6y
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MelAnn
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Pickpick

Well, My goal was to finish this book this weekend and I just got it done under the wire - 4 minutes to spare!

This book has amazing & profound insights & observations of life and death and our humanity. The author can‘t help but take a spiritual journey given the topic. He also addresses the positive death narrative we need to take over America‘s traditional negative narrative! If you‘re human, you need to read this book!

CaitlinR Great review. 6y
MelAnn @CaitlinR Thanks so much! 6y
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MelAnn
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Funerals done right off...

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MelAnn
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It sure does!

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MelAnn
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Hope to finish this book tonight ...

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MelAnn
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Sacred is a word we need to reclaim!

Yes!!!!!

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MelAnn
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I really connect to this ... Grief fog is one of the worst things I‘ve ever experienced - twice in recent years with the loss of my dad and then my brother. He nails this as to what is going on in a way that has never been explained to me before: your brain is trying to cope with the new normal after loss.

Wow.

Lreads "The new normal after loss" is an accurate description. I'm going through this right now and I don't like it! 6y
MelAnn @QuietlyLaura I felt it with my dad nearly six years ago. Though his death was sudden, it was long expected due to his health issues from his early adulthood. Losing my younger brother last year though, sudden, tragic ... I won‘t ever accept this new normal entirely. And I don‘t like it either! Not at all! 6y
Lreads I'm sorry for the loss of your dad and brother. I lost my dad suddenly in december. It's hard and it sucks but somehow we have to keep going on. 💙 6y
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MelAnn @QuietlyLaura yes we do & I am so sorry for your loss! 6y
SonyaBeatty Exactly. I lost my dad in May last year. I can relate. 6y
MelAnn @SonyaBeatty I‘m sorry for your loss! My brother died in April of last year and I‘m just now coming out of the grief fog! 6y
SonyaBeatty @MelAnn I'm sorry for your losses as well. I can't imagine losing a brother as well. ☹ It's true that you don't know what someone is going through until you've been there yourself. 💖 I keep thinking that I've gotten through the grief fog, but I don't think I'm there yet. The worst is passed though. I'm hoping that as spring arrives I can get outside more. 6y
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MelAnn
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Death questions our delusion of self mastery. So let‘s just ignore it. Or better yet, let‘s find someone else to handle it.

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MelAnn
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Remember to shave my facial hair! 😂🤣😂

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MelAnn
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This is so profound but could be a trigger for those easily triggered by infant loss... hence the spoiler & trigger warning...

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MelAnn
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Oh, the drastic things we do for our book habits!

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NerdyRev
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Pickpick

I have read memoirs of funeral directors and they tend to be incredibly interesting. I have never read a faith memoir from the funeral director perspective though and I found it uplifting. This does use Christian language, but I believe it might connect with those struggling with faith as he fights against some of that hard line Christian language quite well. It is a book on death and the death process too, so expect some tough scenes.

Kaye I like reading about this subject myself. Some memoirs I‘ve read that follow this same subject are Good Mourning , and The Undertaker‘s Daughter , if you have yet to read them , both are quite interesting . 🙂 6y
NerdyRev @Kaye Thank you. 6y
MelAnn I am reading this book now and I love it! It‘s on my list to finish this weekend! 6y
NerdyRev @MelAnn Awesome! It is a great little book 6y
MelAnn I just finished it - just wow!!!! Love it! It‘s a new member of my Top Ten favorites for sure! 6y
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Jenken1998
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Pickpick

Insightful look into death and grief and our “death negative” culture. #24in24 book 2

MelAnn Oh I loved this book so much! 6y
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MelAnn
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SilversReviews Excellent quote ans so true. 6y
MelAnn @SilversReviews this book is full of profound observations of life and living. This is my favorite quote from this book so far! 6y
SilversReviews @MelAnn It is beautiful!! 6y
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MelAnn
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Reading at the park today ...

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MelAnn
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Dulcinella
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Pickpick

Confessions of a funeral Director is a real nice book. I enjoyed the style and humour. The other 2 books are both interesting, something between a so-so and pick. Books 20-22

MelAnn Loved the Confessions book! 6y
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Jen2
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Pickpick

Pretty good

Titania I love his blog and Facebook persona. I liked the book, too. Fascinating stuff. 6y
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MelAnn
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MelAnn
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I‘ve lost in a variety of ways, but the loss of my brother in April to a horrible traffic accident (according to coroner, the worst he‘s ever seen) has held a tragic presence that appears randomly in my daily life. I know it‘s him or remnants of the event that shattered our time as we existed or knew it to be.

This quote totally resonates with me because of that.

#grief #death #loss #amreading

Grrlbrarian So very sorry for your loss 😢 6y
MelAnn @Grrlbrarian thank you! 6y
Bookzombie I‘m so sorry for your loss. 6y
MelAnn @Bookzombie thank you 6y
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MelAnn
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“... but I‘ve also seen something more in death, something good. Death‘s hands aren‘t all bony and cold.”

I‘m not a funeral director, but I work with bereaved & this books so far has been extremely relatable for me.

#grief #griefrecovery #death #loss

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Vexingcircumstance
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Aaaand picked these up today. So, They're up next. I'm pretty excited to read confessions of funeral director. #librarybooks #newbooks #nonfiction

Suet624 Looking forward to your review of this book. 7y
11 likes1 comment