Non-fiction book de-mystifies industry of death

In our current society, we have pushed death to the outskirts of collective consciousness; spread around different professions so no one person must bear such grief consistently. The gravedigger, the pathologist, the executioner, the crematorium worker, the cleaner, each one of them makes a livelihood on death. What kind of person chooses such an occupation? Does it change you, working in the industry? Do we lose something, shrouding death in mystery? This is the basis of Hayley Campbell’s “All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life’s Work.”

There are some caveats to mention before approaching the work. Firstly, Campbell doesn’t mince words, letting the reader determine what they can and can’t handle. The process of embalming is described with the same care as the pathologist ruling out SIDS. It is not out of a sense of spectacle, but a desire to de-mystify the systems of care that surround our dead and their loved ones. Secondly, the experiences and interviews are distinct to the Western world.

In the process of researching and writing this book, Campbell received the opportunity to help in environments that would normally be off limits. The first experience was changing a man into the clothes his family requested. The second, a visit to the Mayo Clinic’s Stabile Building, where cadavers are prepared to help save other people by training the next generation of doctors.

Of particular interest was the process of embalming. A previous article by the author decried the process as antiquated, environmentally reprehensible, and, perhaps most divisive, violent. Imagine the growth that came when an embalmer said to her how hurtful that was to read. He had embalmed his own mother.

It is striking, the level of empathy in such an industry. In the height of the AIDS epidemic, families would often deny loved ones of the deceased any contact, shame souring the shared source of bereavement. A funeral director would wait until it was safe, and then let the barred party in through the back door. Another story recalls a man searching for a director who would allow him to see his son, killed by an IED. It did not mater the remains were unrecognizable. It was his boy. He would know.

Often, there is an opportunity to take shortcuts. Why bathe a body that will be reduced to ash at the end of the week? Why keep meticulous record of what anatomical specimen goes to which cadaver? It is almost certain there are those who would not have a problem with efficiency over reverence. Yet, those interviewed in the book demonstrate the integrity in their work and care for the dead as synonymous.

Each chapter is specific to an occupation. You do not need to read the entire book, though each chapter builds on themes explored in the last. The writing is kept from overt clinical description with contemporary language and acknowledgment of some of the funnier aspects of death. The running start needed to get a corpse from the gurney to the cremator in a converted building, for example.

This book is not for everyone. A level of macabre curiosity and an ability to stomach some very frank descriptions of what it takes to care for the dead are absolutely necessary. However, for anyone who has touched death, and been left mystified, “All the Living and the Dead” is essential reading.