All the Living and the Dead From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life’s Work

Hayley Campbell — 2022

A compelling and compassionate exploration of the death industry and the people—embalmers, detectives, crime scene cleaners, executioners—who work in it and what led them there. Embarking on a three-year trip across the US and the UK, journalist Hayley Campbell—inspired by her longtime fascination with death, thanks to a childhood surrounded by her father’s Jack the Ripper cartoons—met with a variety of professionals in the death industry to see how they work. Along the way, Campbell encountered funeral directors, embalmers, a man who dissects cadavers for anatomy students, and a former executioner who is responsible for ending 62 lives. She sat in a van with old gravediggers who have already dug their own graves. She raked out bones and ash with a man who works in a crematorium. She dressed a dead man for his coffin, held a brain at an autopsy, visited a cryonics facility in Michigan, and went for late-night Chinese with a homicide detective. Through Campbell’s prodding, reverent interviews with these people who see death every day, Campbell pieces together the psychic jigsaw to ask: Why would someone choose a life of working with the dead? Does being so near to lifeless bodies alter your perspective? Does an antidote to the fear of death exist? A dazzling work of cultural criticism, All the Living and the Dead weaves together reportage with memoir, history, and philosophy, to offer readers a fascinating look into the psychology of Western death. And in the vein of Caitlin Doughty and Mary Roach, Campbell sharply investigates her—and our—own fascinations and fears through her encounters with this series of extraordinary people.

Reviews

Yaffa@msmusyaffa

Jan 26, 2024

Personally, I am thankful that i havent experienced a deep sense of loss due to someone's death prior to reading this book. But all the same, this book could really help provide people with a way to accept death as the eventual end (physical, at least) of every living thing. The author's interviews with people who deal with death (morticians, gravediggers, and even cryonics scientists) gives us glimpses of the unique perspectives these people held on treating the dead. This, coupled with the author's own contemplative opinions, helped me see death as not just an abstract unknowable thing, but a deeply human experience worthy of being paid attention to.

Jacque@jacque_who

May 7, 2023

Really no flaws. Everyone should read.

Alex Goodwin@abgoodwin

Mar 6, 2023

I have a lot of thoughts about this book, and could likely talk for awhile unpacking the wide range of emotions that it made me feel. As a whole, western cultures fear death and often try to look the other way or sweep the details under the rug. All the Living and the Dead addresses the dark and morbid side of death (to be expected) but also brought to light the tender, hopeful, and caring side of those who work so closely with death. I went through a rollercoaster of emotions reading this, and while it was by no means a “happy” book, it offered some hope and easier ways to cope with such a fearful topic.

Elizabeth Neill@beersbooksandboos

Jul 31, 2022

I have been dealing with a lot of death within my family in the past couple of years. This book really helped me understand what everyone did for my family during the death. This book was excellently written, and it was very easy to follow. I really can't wait to read more for Hayley Campbell.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for letting give my honest review