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    Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life
    Unavailable
    Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life
    Unavailable
    Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life
    Audiobook4 hours

    Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life

    Written by Caleb Wilde

    Narrated by Eric Martin

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

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    About this audiobook

    A sixth-generation funeral director and writer of the popular "must read" (Time magazine) blog Confessions of a Funeral Director 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 don't 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 family's business. Yet he discovered that caring for the deceased and their loved ones profoundly changed his faith and his perspective on death—and 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 existence—insights that can help us all pursue and cherish full, rich lives.

    Editor's Note

    Death positive…

    Whether you’re a fan of funeral director Caleb Wilde’s popular blog or not, you definitely need to read his “death positive” book. It will give you a deeper, more spiritual perspective on death that will dispel your fears and help you live your best life.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateSep 26, 2017
    ISBN9780062742995
    Author

    Caleb Wilde

    Caleb Wilde is a partner at his family’s business, Wilde Funeral Home, in Parkesburg, Pennsylvania. He writes the popular blog Confessions of a Funeral Director and recently completed postgraduate work at Winchester University, England, in the program, “Death, Religion and Culture.” He has been featured in top media outlets, including The Huntington Post, The Atlantic, and TIME magazine, and on NPR, NBC, and ABC’s 20/20.

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    Reviews for Confessions of a Funeral Director

    4/5

    66 ratings6 reviews

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    • 3/5
      It was an ok book. Quick listen. It’s a lot of Christianity talk which felt distracting. I found it odd he kept referring to the embalming room as a “morgue” when it is most commonly referred to as the “Prep room”. As a funeral director, I felt like he described a lot of the challenges we face in our job well.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      As a recent widow, I have spent the past 18 months learning to embrace death. I have experienced others deaths that have hurt tremendously but my husband’s death broke me open. I have read, journaled, and talked openly about death during this time. I’ve become aware of how our culture is so death-negative even though death is such an integral part of life. This book captures so much of what I’ve learned and experienced. It is not a book of gloom and doom or a book of rainbows. Rather it is an honest narrative that addresses the author’s questions and answers about life, death, heaven, hell, God, and relationships. I highly recommend this book.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I cried with the author like a baby. I reflected and meditated deeply on so many aspects of my life and world, thanks to this wonderful book. Thank you, really!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      All this book did to me was make me miss the HBO show "Six Feet Under"

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Great book and a positive look at life. This book reminds me that life needs to be valued and appreciated.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Beautifully written. Nuanced and poignant. Highly recommend as a starting point to death positivity.

      1 person found this helpful