Staff Book and Media Recommendations

Cemetery Stories by Katherine Ramsland

Reviewer: Jenan Alleman

This time of year, all things spooky and macabre make their appearance. If you’ve ever been fascinated by cemeteries or wondered what happens to a body after death, Katherine Ramsland pulls back the curtain on the death care industry to give readers an inside view of what goes on not only in cemeteries but in the industries connected to and around them. The book is divided into three parts with part one focusing on those who work with the dead and in the death care business. The second part of the book highlights cemetery origins and history and death traditions, while the third part of the book recounts stories of the strange, unusual and sometimes downright shocking.  Ramsland conducted many interviews with professionals who work in the various areas connected to death-from those who work directly with bodies such as embalmers to those on the business side, like casket retailers. There are times when the truth certainly is stranger than fiction. Even though some of the interviews by embalmers and others who prepare corpses caused me to shudder, it was fascinating to learn about something that is often hidden from view. It was also enlightening to learn about what’s termed the business of death and dying. In the past funeral homes were often family owned businesses, but in recent decades there has been a move of corporatization within the industry.  Whether this is a positive development or not is debatable, but unlike other books which have portrayed the funeral business as predatory, Ramsland leaves this issue more or less for the reader to decide.  Overall, I found Cemetery Stories an informative book on an issue that few really know about.