Another good read about, of all things, undertakers, may be found in Mortuary Confidential: Undertakers Spill the Dirt, collected by Kenneth McKenzie and Todd Harra. People react to death in all kinds of ways and those who provided stories here have dealt with everything from grief, to anger, to humor and violence. Sometimes there are actually repeat customers, so to speak: one woman, who was so touched by how her young son's funeral was handled used the same mortician for other family members, including, finally, herself. There's a mistake that turned out well, (one of my favorite stories, but I did promise no spoilers)!, the man who was buried naked from the waist down (since that's how he spent his time at home, according to his wife), one family who laid mom out in the back of their pickup truck and delivered her themselves because it would save the 'pickup service' a long drive, and, a most touching one, about the survivor of a concentration camp.

I am single, have been all my life, am very happy this way, and have several friends of the same age, in the same situation ... so ... when I saw Single: Living a Complete Life On Your Own Terms, by Nicola Slawson, I was most interested! We are going against convention, after all, even in these more modern times. Author does a nice job explaining these expectations, and how to ignore them. There was a lot of excellent information here, but this reader got the feeling that for those she interviewed, being single was something that would change at some point (the author, who wanted to be a mom, was pregnant when she finished writing the book). Now, this is fine, but it would have been nice to include some older 'singles' and those who planned, wanted, desired to stay this way. Just my opinion, of course. :-)

Reading Hermit With Dog