Szabo presents a thorough bibliographical examination of the funeral industry and related subjects. Most citations are annotated, with special notes on editions and reprints.
"Morbid and illuminating" (Entertainment Weekly)—a young mortician goes behind the scenes of her curious profession. Armed with a degree in medieval history and a flair for the macabre, Caitlin Doughty took a job at a crematory and turned morbid curiosity into her life’s work. She cared for bodies of every color, shape, and affliction, and became an intrepid explorer in the world of the dead. In this best-selling memoir, brimming with gallows humor and vivid characters, she marvels at the gruesome history of undertaking and relates her unique coming-of-age story with bold curiosity and mordant wit. By turns hilarious, dark, and uplifting, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes reveals how the fear of dying warps our society and "will make you reconsider how our culture treats the dead" (San Francisco Chronicle).
In Pulling Back the Curtain on Qualitative Research, the authors maintain that for sociologists the entire world is a laboratory. Seldom do they attend social gatherings without observing people and their interaction in a systematic and intellectually curious way. Regular trips to the grocery store, church services, and engagement with social media all open the door to sociological questioning and encourage forms of empirical observation and data collection. Here, in this practical and in-depth guide to conducting qualitative sociological field research, the authors offer step-by-step guidance to the processes of choosing a research question and forming research objectives; gaining entry to research settings; and reporting and analyzing findings. Each chapter features a past research assignment, wherein the authors draw attention to important ethical considerations and extract the many lessons, quirks, and unanticipated findings they experienced along the way that readers should prepare for and apply while conducting their own qualitative fieldwork. Over the span of several field studies, this book offers readers a behind-the-scenes look at some tested and trusted qualitative methodologies. Designed to be a guide for undergraduate and graduate level students, its real-life meditations would make a meaningful addition to anyone serious about conducting sociological research.
Pathology and Microbiology for Mortuary Science is a comprehensive book for the study of pathology and microbiology written for mortuary science students, as a resource for educators, and as a reference for funeral directors and embalmers. The book is designed around the current American Board of Funeral Service Education's Curriculum Outlines for pathology and microbiology. Quick reference appendices provide a review of pertinent anatomy and physiology. Case studies in chapters that discuss specific diseases allow learners to review the postmortem condition of human remains in relation to the disease. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.
A National Book Award Finalist "One of the most life-affirming books I have read in a long time…brims with humanity, irreverence, and invigorating candor." —Tom Vanderbilt "Every year I bury a couple hundred of my townspeople." So opens this singular and wise testimony. Like all poets, inspired by death, Thomas Lynch is, unlike others, also hired to bury the dead or to cremate them and to tend to their families in a small Michigan town where he serves as the funeral director. In the conduct of these duties he has kept his eyes open, his ear tuned to the indispensable vernaculars of love and grief. In these twelve pieces his is the voice of both witness and functionary. Here, Lynch, poet to the dying, names the hurts and whispers the condolences and shapes the questions posed by this familiar mystery. So here is homage to parents who have died and to children who shouldn't have. Here are golfers tripping over grave markers, gourmands and hypochondriacs, lovers and suicides. These are the lessons for life our mortality teaches us.
The blogger behind Confessions of a Funeral Director—what Time magazine called a "must read"—reflects on mortality and the powerful lessons death holds for every one of us in this compassionate and thoughtful spiritual memoir that combines the humor and insight of Smoke Gets in Your Eyes with the poignancy and brevity of When Breath Becomes Air. We are a people who deeply fear death. While humans are biologically wired to evade death for as long as possible, we have become too adept at hiding from it, vilifying it, and—when it can be avoided no longer—letting the professionals take over. Sixth-generation funeral director Caleb Wilde understands this reticence and fear. He had planned to get as far away from the family business as possible. He wanted to make a difference in the world, and how could he do that if all the people he worked with were . . . dead? Slowly, he discovered that caring for the deceased and their loved ones was making a difference—in other people’s lives to be sure, but it also seemed to be saving his own. A spirituality of death began to emerge as he observed: The family who lovingly dressed their deceased father for his burial The act of embalming a little girl that offered a gift back to her grieving family The nursing home that honored a woman’s life by standing in procession as her body was taken away The funeral that united a conflicted community Through stories like these, told with equal parts humor and poignancy, Wilde offers an intimate look into the business and a new perspective on living and dying
Job Hunter's Sourcebook pulls together all the research and resources needed for a successful job hunt into one central place. Included in this edition are 13,867 entries -- entries may appear in multiple sections. Part One profiles 216 high-interest professional and vocational occupations, from accountant and aircraft mechanic to sports official and stockbroker. A Master List of Profiled Professions lists alternate, popular, synonymous, and related job titles and links them to the jobs profiled, providing quick access to information sources on specific occupations by all their variant names. Entries contain complete contact information and are arranged by type of resource. Part Two serves as a clearinghouse in organizing the wide-ranging information available to today's job seeker. It features such topics as resume resources, alternative ways to work, and opportunities for a diverse work force. Sources of Essential Job-Hunting Information addresses 32 employment topics, such as resume writing, interviewing skills, employment issues for disabled workers, working from home, and electronic job search information. Each category features a multitude of sources, including reference works, online and database services, software programs, and more. Entries contain complete contact information.Also included is The Index to Information Sources which alphabetically lists all of the publications, organizations, electronic resources, and other sources of job-hunting information.