“When I go on these tragic calls, I'll usually either sit in silence or find some upbeat music on the radio to distract me from the void. It can be anything: Pop music. Oldies. Katy Perry.” SilenceVoidKaty Perry Book:Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life Source: Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life
“Hell, for most believers, is only reserved for the likes of Hitler, Joffrey Baratheon, and the Others, but hardly ever for their own.” HellBelieversOwn Book:Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life Source: Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life
“There is a difference between empathy and sympathy and it is an important distinction for those who work in caregiving. Dr. Nicola Davies writes on her website, “Imagine being at the bottom of a deep, dark hole. Peer up to the top of the hole and you might see some of your friends and family waiting for you, offering words of support and encouragement. This is sympathy; they want to help you out of the pit you have found yourself in. This can assist, but not as much as the person who is standing beside you; the person who is in that hole with you and can see the world from your perspective; this is empathy.” EmpathySympathy Book:Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life Source: Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life
“When we arrived, we found that the family had draped black linen across the front door. A sign was hung over the ribbon with this announcement scribbled in child’s handwriting: “Dad died. Come on in if you want to see him.” FamilyDadDied Book:Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life Source: Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life
“When we got back to the funeral home, I knew that the family wanted Sara’s little body embalmed. I don’t like embalming children; I really don’t like it.” ChildrenChildEmbalm Book:Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life Source: Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life
“And, sometimes, although rarely, I'd wonder if maybe I could drive a Countach in heaven since I couldn't afford one on earth.” EarthAffordCountach Book:Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life Source: Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life
“Nevertheless, death asks us to pause. It doesn’t tell us what we need to do when we pause (there may be nothing to do at all), but it asks us to be in its presence. To sit with it. Listen to it. To lay aside chronos and embrace kairos.” DeathPauseKairosChronos Book:Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life Source: Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life
“Whether the pressure is from an inward or an outward expectation, there's always this nagging feeling that we should be able to restore any form of disfigurement, that embalmers should possess some Harry Potter magic in our prep room and magically wave our trocar (a large needle-like instrument we use during embalming) while chanting Abracadabra, pulchra cadaver and then "poof we have beautiful corpses. But there is no magic trocar.” Harry PotterAbracadabraEmbalmber Book:Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life Source: Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life