Mortuary Confidential, Todd Harra
Mortuary Confidential, Todd Harra
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Mortuary Confidential
Undertakers Spill the Dirt

Author: Todd Harra, Kenneth McKenzie

Narrator: Allan Robertson, Susan Larkin

Unabridged: 6 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/30/2021


Synopsis

When the casket reached the front of the sanctuary, there was a loud cracking sound as the bottom fell out. And with a thump, down came Father Iggy.

From shoot-outs at funerals to dead men screaming and runaway corpses, undertakers have plenty of unusual stories to tell—and a special way of telling them.

In this macabre and moving compilation, funeral directors across the country share their most embarrassing, jaw-dropping, irreverent, and deeply poignant stories about life at death's door. Discover what scares them and what moves them to tears. Learn about rookie mistakes and why death sometimes calls for duct tape.

Enjoy tales of the dearly departed spending eternity naked from the waist down and getting bottled and corked—in a wine bottle. And then meet their families—the weepers, the punchers, the stolidly dignified, and the ones who deliver their dead mother in a pickup truck.

If there's one thing undertakers know, it's that death drives people crazy. These are the best "bodies of work" from America's darkest profession.

About Todd Harra

Todd Harra is the author of several books about the funeral profession. He is a fourth-generation funeral director and works for the family business in Wilmington, Delaware. In addition to being a funeral director and embalmer, Todd is a certified postmortem reconstructionist and cremationist.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kerrie on December 23, 2019

This compilation of stories from the funeral industry just didn't strike a cord with me.  I found it to be poorly written and the stories were often ones that I think would have been best kept to social hour at a mortuary worker's convention.  I got 3/4 of the way through and decided that it wasn't......more

Goodreads review by Rachelle on August 07, 2021

"Working around death has given me a greater appreciation for life, because everyday I have to face that final stage, while most people choose to ignore it." I simply loved this collection of stories! 50 tales that range from deeply touching to the funnily awkward, it has it all. It's a peek behind......more

Goodreads review by Christine on November 20, 2023

Just OK I was expecting to learn more about the industry and as the title suggested some dirt. What I found were just short stories that were mostly just typical days at their office. There were a few that stood out and I really liked but for the most part this book didn't deliver the goods.......more

Goodreads review by Traci on December 13, 2020

Excellent read. Some entries are humorous, others brought tears to my eyes. Those who work in the industry really do see it all, and thankfully, most of them are the decent sort that just want to help others.......more

Goodreads review by April on October 24, 2016

A very interesting look into the lives of those who probably have the hardest and most underappreciated jobs out there. Some of the stories are sad or touching. But most, are pretty damn funny. Because a job is a job, and no job is perfect or goes as planned. But in every story, there is pride, grea......more