Precis: Now that I have been training as an undertaker for a while, I feel less uncomfortable around dead bodies as I used to. I've done so many embalmings that after a certain point I stopped seeing it as cutting up and filling a helpless human being with chemicals, and started seeing it as a job. It important to disconnect from the bodies and the families you work with, or you are at risk of getting too personal. The idea of handling grief is much worse than the thought of handling a dead body in my opinion. At Neil's crematorium, I had my first experience cremating an overweight man. He was a good 500 lbs and he lit up so much that he made light show. Cremation has become more and more popular in the last two decades, especially because of the prices are lower than traditional burial services. Neil's prices are particularly higher than other crematoriums but he offers transparency which makes him more reliable than other cremators. Most cremators treat their crematoriums like business and to them it doesn't matter whether a costumer gets the wrong ashes if they get paid. Also, costumer's don't usually end up paying the sticker price. These are all risks that people take when going to just any crematorium.
Quotes:
"Grief scares me more than death; it may be as simple, and as complicated as that." (106)
"Funeral service and the rituals we choreograph are meant to tamp down the wild, reality, and it's like watching a glass vase fall and hit the floor." (108)
One aspect of this book that I found particularly humorous is how closely related undertaking and performing are. The fact that they have to convey empathetic emotions they don't necessarily feel and continue going when they make mistakes directly reminded me of the skills you have to possess to be a good performer.
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