Making an Exit - From the Magnificent to the Macabre - How We Dignify the Dead (Paperback)

"Not only a fascinating travelogue but also a personal meditation on loss and fate...There is a wealth to discover within these pages."--The EconomistJournalist Sarah Murray never gave much thought to what might ultimately happen to her remains--until her father died. Puzzled by the choices he made about the disposal of his "organic matter," she embarks on a series of journeys to discover how death is commemorated in different cultures. Her travels lead her to discover everything from a Czech chandelier of human bones and a weeping ceremony in Iran to a Philippine village where the casketed dead hang in caves.Fascinating, poignant, and often funny, "Making an Exit" is Murray's exploration of the ways in which we seek to dignify the dead--and a deeply personal quest for a final send-off of her own.