This might be one of my favorite books I’ll read this year. What a fascinating book! While I was mildly annoyed by the authors insertion of her very obvious anti-death-penalty stance in her interview with the executioner, the rest was phenomenal. There were so many different professions interviewed, many of which I didn’t even know existed!

The author also makes some great points. For example, the first time you see a dead body shouldn’t be someone you love, because otherwise your baseline understanding of death will be so closely intertwined with such immense grief that it will be difficult to untangle them and, ultimately, may negatively impact your relationship with life and death long-term.

It was also refreshing in that a child’s interest in death and gore may not turn them into serial killers. There are so many professions that need people who are not squeamish, such as pathologists (who perform autopsies on anyone from babies to adults), crime scene cleanup crews (who clean up suicides and murders), and people who slice up human anatomy for medical students. I, for example, wanted to be a CSI investigator as a child dating back to 2nd grade and LOVED the TV show. It made me feel a little better about such a weird interest when all my friends wanted to be pop singers and marine biologists lol.

I highly recommend this book if you are interested in anything related to true crime nonfiction!

Hayley Campbell's "All the Living and the Dead" isn't your typical exploration of death. It delves deep into the lives of those who work in the death industry, offering a unique and often unsettling perspective.

Campbell's narration adds a personal touch, weaving her childhood fascination with death into the narrative. Through a series of candid interviews, she sheds light on the motivations and experiences of a fascinating cast of characters - from morticians and embalmers to crime scene cleaners and even a former executioner.

The book doesn't shy away from the macabre. Campbell's vivid descriptions bring you face-to-face with the realities of death, forcing you to confront your own fears and societal taboos surrounding mortality.

"All the Living and the Dead" is a thought-provoking and challenging listen. It compels you to question your own relationship with death and the way our society treats the deceased.

A fascinating look at perspectives of death from different people and different cultures. I really enjoyed learning about different jobs related to death. The author's narration was also very nice.

I liked it.
It's all about death, the history of funerals, autopsies and how we process the dead.
Fantastic and morbid.

This was a fascinating look at what happens after death and all the people involved in the trade of death. I think this book will have a very niche audience and that the people who fit that audience, like myself, will love this book. The people who don’t hopefully they learn something all still give it the high rating it deserves.

An eloquent and profound reflection on a huge part of life most of us prefer not to dwell upon, this book left me feeling different about death. I appreciated the author’s dedication to exploring complex feelings around several processes that occur during and after death. It felt as though Campbell honoured death and professionals in the field with her intelligence and empathy.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

An in depth look into the death industry and the people who handle us after we're gone. Detailing every step of the process, and a few of the less traditional aspects, Campbell made it her mission to relay those who work in death are shown with compassion and understanding.

I adored this book. I personally got a little squeamish about the more medical details involved in the embalming and generally preparing a body for viewing. How the mouth is kept closed and the like. But as Campbell says in the afterward, she never assumed what the reader could and could not handle. She let us make that choice for ourselves. The discussions had about death, about care of the body, about the realities every person will one day face, were all compassionate and gave an understanding that I've never had in my life.

"The first dead body you see shouldn't be someone you love. You should first learn how to distinguish between death and loss." It's not an exact quote, but easily the most powerful statement the entire book makes. Because its not wrong. The entire book discusses the difference between the natural end of life, and the grief left behind by the loss of a loved one. She talks about how many people have had a hand in their loved ones after life care because they were first exposed to death outside their loss. Grave diggers who buried their mothers and have already dug their own future graves by way of family plots. Morticians who have bled their parents and pumped in chemicals to bring a false sense of life back to their body in preparation for the funeral. A death midwife who was prepared for a worst possible scenario when she faced a complication in pregnancy. All are able to cope, to a degree, with loss because they understand it as separate from death.

There are some statistics going around recently about why women are the preferred gender for care of a body after death (do not google why). But Campbell mentions a similar statistic but gives an explanation I wasn't expecting. More women are taking courses for this kind of care then men. Ever since the shift in mortuary care went from simply the person with the body to the person handling bereavement. As society becomes less deeply religious, there has been a shift away from the church and towards the people in the business. There is more care involved with a funeral by people. Campbell reasons it might be because of our natural connection with blood, and life, that could lead to a more natural inclination towards that field. Certainly an interesting conclusion.

This book is just beautiful. I honestly feel like I could write an entire breakdown of everything she discusses. From prison executions to cryo-freezing bodies for a possible future. Every topic she discusses is poignant and I had to take mini breaks between each chapter to think about what I had just learned, and the new approach I'd just been shown.

My parents are beginning to age, the knowledge that I have a finite time with them is more clear now than ever. This book might not be for everyone coping with death. But it couldn't hurt to check it out if you are.

I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

I'm not sure where to start with this one. It was a tad slow for me. Maybe that's just my ADD speaking, but I need some sort of action to happen in the first few chapters to hold me over.

The narrator was good. But I think this was just didn't hold my interest enough.

Loved the authors personal connections to her experience of death. If you're looking for info on being a mortician, this is more of an autobiography/memoir

Fascinating. I learned so much. To me this book isn’t morbid at all. It is the reality of death and many people who spend their adult lives in the industry of the dying. It happens to all of us of course.

All The Living and The Dead | Hayley Campbell
Do I Recommend This Book: YES
Favorite quote: “ How can you be sure it is Death That you fear.”

Things I Loved About It:
The Rawness that is life and death explained in vivid detail
The way the author saw death and how they explained it
I am a bookcover lover and this was not what I expected looking at it but I enjoyed it
It was dark in a scientific way, these are the subjects that people try to avoid and it was refreshing to hear the author speak of them
It gave gothic realism
The narrator’s (The Author) voice
All the information and statistics
Chapter Titles 🖤
How what some may say is macabre was put into focus



#POCREVIEWER #POCAUTHOR #Womenwritebooks #Bookstagram #Booktok #Death #Undertakers #Audiobooks #Magpies #Burial #Whatshappensafter #Peoplewhoselivingisindeath #Taboo #PurchaseDiverseBooks #FuckB&N #ShopIndie #ShopSmallBusiness #SupportIndieAuthors #KindleReader #Mamijustwantstoread #Leavemebe

Another book about death and dying, do we really need that in our day and age?" you might ask. Well, yes, we do... This was an engrossing read, in the vein of "Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs" and "Stiff" that deals with dying, the profession of working with dead people, and the science behind it. From undertakers to bereavement midwives, this is a serious look at how human life is respected and honored in Western culture.

"Embarking on a three-year trip across the US and the UK, journalist Hayley Campbell 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 dressed a dead man for his coffin, held a brain at an autopsy, and visited a cryonics facility in Michigan. 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?"

My favorite part of the book was when the author toured and talked with the cryonics facility manager. Prior to reading this book, I didn't know anything about the "science" of cryonics, except that it worked for Han Solo in Star Wars... Cambell neither condemns nor validates those who spend their whole life on this earth preparing to die and be ready for their earthly resurrection. Instead, she presents the facts and her observations in an engaging and conversational tone, and lets you form your own opinions.

Unique, Fascinating, and Well-researched, this is the perfect read with fresh information for fans of Caitlin Doughty and Mary Roach.

Insightful and Informative!

Truthfully I did not have any expectations before I started reading this book, but if I had any they would have been blown out of the water! The writing was done beautifully, I felt like I was at a personalized lecture, and technically I was. I was learning from people in the field! There was so much compassion and emotions that went into the writing and even in the interviews that were conducted for this book. All the Living and the Dead gives a different perspective on such a scary, dark and sometimes even taboo topic. There are real people that are involved in all aspects of the death process. People that help us every step of the way that we don't even consider.

Just amazing! I highly recommend anyone and everyone pick this book up.

Thank You to Hayley Campbell and St. Martin’s Press, for the audio-digital ARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

I thought this was an extremely well written and researched book. I've heard it compared to Stiff, and while it's been YEARS since I've read it, I found this one to go into a bit more detail. I loved the authors backstory, and I found her to be quite relatable.

I don't typically rate nonfiction, but I would recommend this one to anyone curious about the topic, and maybe slightly morbid like myself. 🙃

DNF @ 35%

I might give this another chance in the future. Just couldn’t stay captivated by the information being read.

(ALC received from NetGalley in exchange for honest review. Thank you.)

I guess for some, diving into a book about death, could be considered macabre. It is, however, the one thing we all have in common. Death is the proverbial end goal. The author narrates her own book and she was terrific. She covers so much, from autopsies to medical examiner, from student dissections, to crime scenes. in a book with this subject there are disturbing items, one featuring a midwife and a baby that couldn't be saved. I think it's important to note that this wasn't just an intellectual exercise, she actually went to these places, talked to the people who make this their job and in many areas personally witnesses what they do. She was not unaffected by some of what she saw, one in particular rocked her emotionally and mentally. I was very interested in much of what she investigates, this was not done to shock but to inform.
In opinion, this book did just that.

All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life's Work was written, and the audiobook narrated, by Hayley Campbell. We are surrounded by death. It is in our news, our nursery rhymes, our true-crime podcasts. Yet from a young age, we are told that death is something to be feared. How are we supposed to know what we’re so afraid of, when we are never given the chance to look? Fueled by a childhood fascination with death, journalist Hayley Campbell searches for answers in the people who make a living by working with the dead. Along the way, she encounters mass fatality investigators, embalmers, and a former executioner who is responsible for ending sixty-two lives. She meets gravediggers who have already dug their own graves, visits a cryonics facility in Michigan, goes for late-night Chinese with a homicide detective, and questions a man whose job it is to make crime scenes disappear.

All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life's Work is a fascinating read, or listen as the case may be. I think the author did a great job as narrator, and found it much easy to get past some of the more gruesome moments on audio instead of trying to read it on the page. Campbell did a great job of getting her experiences, and those of the individuals she interviewed, together into one book that explored not only how they view death, and the way society as a whole treats death, but how the people that deal with death everyday as part of their jobs have come to be in their position and how the deal with it all. There were moments that were very hard to listen to, and I cannot imagine being someone that has to deal with the autopsies, embalming, or clean up crew that follows a death. However, I could see stepping up as a bereavement midwife or part of a disaster relief team in some compacity, but if I am honest I do not think I would be prepared for the emotions and trauma involved with any of them. I was amazed at the levels of day to day work involved in the death industry, and sad that I never thought about how much unseen labor is involved. Although, I should not be surprised because the behind the scenes work of most industries often gets ignored or forgotten.

All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life's Work is a thought provoking book with in depth research and honesty that will make you think a bit more about death, and life.

truly one of the best modern pieces on the death industry. Campbell is right alongside Doughty and her crew. I loved every page of this beautiful book on a process we all have to endure at some point. Bravo!

I tend to stick to true crime when it comes to non-fiction picks, but after reading Mary Roach’s book Stiff, I’ve been seeking out non-fiction titles that focus on the complexities of death. Before you think this book sounds like too morbid of a read, know that Campbell’s book is about more than death. There is so much care and compassion throughout this book from both Campbell and those she interviews. I was touched so many times from the first-hand accounts of the interviewees and I learned far more than I ever thought possible from this book. Sure, death is macabre, but it’s also something that we’re all going to face one day, so why not take the time to learn more? I greatly appreciate all of the work that went into this book and highly recommend it!

🎧: If you’re like me and prefer your non-fiction on audio, Campbell is the narrator for her own book and hearing it told by her certainly added something special to the experience!

A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my gifted copy!

I have always had a morbid curiosity about the dead, but I admit I never gave much thought to those who take care of us or our love ones after we die.
Anyone who's read horror or true crime, knows what the police do when they hve a body, and even whay happens when the Medical Examiner gets the body. But who thinks of the people who have to clean the bodies, dress them, make them look as peaceful as survivors need.
During the pandemic we all hailed the heros that worked in the hospital trying to save people, or comfort them as they die, but no one says anything about the people who step in after the worse has happened. Imagine the PTSD funeral home workers must have after having to work on hundreds, thousands of bodies without knowing if the virus was still transmittable, or knowing no one will be able to see them to say goodbye.
The audiobook hit me harder than I think reading the book would have. There was a humanity to the tale that sometimes made me cry, and surprisingly even laugh out loud a few times.
An amazing book. Highly recomended even if you think the subject matter to raw for you.
Thanks to @netgalley for this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.