Remember Me: A Lively Tour of the New American Way of DeathCullen has created a humorous and poignant chronicle of her travels around the country to discover how Americans -- baby boomers, in particular -- are reinventing the rites of dying. What she discovered is that the people who reinvented youth, redefined careers, and reconceived middle age have created a new attitude toward the afterlife. They no longer want to take death lying down; instead, they're taking their demise into their own hands and planning the after-party. Cullen begins her journey at a national undertakers' convention in Nashville, where she checks out the latest in death merchandise. Traveling with her newborn infant on her back, she hears stories of modern-day funerals: lobster-shaped caskets and other unconventional containers for corpses; the booming cremation industry that has spawned a slew of "end-trepreneurs," including a company that turns cremated remains into diamonds; and even mishaps like dove releases gone horribly wrong. Cullen tours the country's first "green" cemetery in South Carolina, meets a mummification advocate at his pyramid in Utah, and visits the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival in Colorado. She crashes a Hmong funeral in Minneapolis and a tango funeral in Washington, D.C. Eye-opening, funny, and unforgettable, Remember Me gives an account of the ways in which Americans are designing new occasions to mark death -- by celebrating life. |
Contents
| 1 | |
BIODEGRADABLE YOU | 37 |
ASHES TO ASHES DUST TO DIAMONDS | 61 |
AS NEAR TO HEAVEN BY SEA AS BY LAND | 77 |
OUTSIDE THE BOX | 97 |
THE CULTURE THING | 141 |
DENIAL IS A RIVER | 157 |
MODERN UNDERTAKING 101 | 171 |
ORCHIDS AND CHOPSTICKS | 195 |
LAST STOP | 207 |
INDEX | 213 |
Other editions - View all
Remember Me: A Lively Tour of the American Way of Dea Lisa Takeuchi Cullen No preview available - 2011 |
Remember Me: A Lively Tour of the New American Way of Death Lisa Takeuchi Cullen No preview available - 2007 |