American Afterlife

A few months ago, while driving into work, I heard Kate Sweeney on WABE (listen to the interview here) discussing her new book American Afterlife. 

I was so fascinated by the overall topic regarding how people deal with death and why they choose certain rituals and memorials. The book even discusses how the way we handle death and funerals has evolved. For instance, historically people held funerals in their homes (in the parlor room), but eventually funerals moved outside the home and the parlor was replaced with the name "living room." Kind of crazy, isn't it?

This past Saturday, J + I went to our local book store, Tall Tales, to meet Kate and hear her discuss the book. It was an intimate group with a really great discussion. Kate even did a brief reading and talked more about her experiences while writing the book.

I'm so excited to read it and I'll keep you all posted once I'm finished.

"No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new" - Steve Jobs