In most traditional societies, caring for the recently deceased is the province of women. And yet, there are very few women undertakers in America. Here are three nonfiction books about women and the funeral directing business.
The most recent is The Undertaker's Daughter, opens a new window by Katherine Mayfield. Growing up above a funeral home in the 1960s and 70s, the Mayfields lived by a code of silence: don't talk about Daddy's drinking or affairs, don't talk about sister Evelyn's erratic behavior, don't talk at all when there's a funeral going on downstairs. Poignant, occasionally funny, and full of atmosphere, this book is a portrait of rural Southern life in a bygone era.
Alison Bechdel writes of also being an undertaker's kid in Fun Home, opens a new window. There are romps through the casket showroom and plenty of other mischief, but it is mostly the story of Bechdel and her complex, closeted father. Bechdel won high praise for her graphic memoir, and it was turned into a Tony-winning musical, opens a new window.
My very first blog post for CPL was for Nine Years Under, opens a new window by Sheri Booker. Booker chronicles her coming of age working as a clerk in a Baltimore funeral home. Here's the full post.
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