I Died Laughing: Funeral Education With a Light Touch

Rating:
Summary: A funny yet useful little book
Review: Death is not a topic many of us enjoy talking about, and as a result many people are unprepared for the business side of death once it strikes close to home. The underlying goal of this little book is to increase readers' knowledge of death, funerals, and the like. Thus, there is information on burial vaults, caskets, funeral homes, cremation, etc.; much of this information is useful and interesting. There are even money-saving tips for families in financial straits. Surrounding these tips and suggestions, though, are an assortment of humorous remarks and stories: famous last words, cartoons, jokes, funny epitaphs, poems, and recollections. You will also find "A Dying Person's Bill of Rights" and--my favorite--a list of suggestions for "Putting the 'Fun' Back in Funerals." This book is in no way irreverent or disrespectful of the dead and those who mourn for them, and there are no religious overtones that might upset certain readers. This short little book (it can easily be read in half an hour) will certainly not make you an expert on funerals, but there is some good information to be found on the serious pages scattered throughout the book, not least of which is a discussion of the information funeral homes are required by law to give you in writing before you make any buying decision. The author emphasizes the fact that you are not required to accept everything the funeral director recommends and stresses the importance of reading through the price guidelines and relevant information before making your decision. No matter how much we deny it, death is a part of life we all must face, and this little book celebrates life through its humor and makes death a little easier for people to consider and talk about.

Rating:
Summary: A funny yet useful little book
Review: Death is not a topic many of us enjoy talking about, and as a result many people are unprepared for the business side of death once it strikes close to home. The underlying goal of this little book is to increase readers' knowledge of death, funerals, and the like. Thus, there is information on burial vaults, caskets, funeral homes, cremation, etc.; much of this information is useful and interesting. There are even money-saving tips for families in financial straits. Surrounding these tips and suggestions, though, are an assortment of humorous remarks and stories: famous last words, cartoons, jokes, funny epitaphs, poems, and recollections. You will also find "A Dying Person's Bill of Rights" and--my favorite--a list of suggestions for "Putting the 'Fun' Back in Funerals." This book is in no way irreverent or disrespectful of the dead and those who mourn for them, and there are no religious overtones that might upset certain readers. This short little book (it can easily be read in half an hour) will certainly not make you an expert on funerals, but there is some good information to be found on the serious pages scattered throughout the book, not least of which is a discussion of the information funeral homes are required by law to give you in writing before you make any buying decision. The author emphasizes the fact that you are not required to accept everything the funeral director recommends and stresses the importance of reading through the price guidelines and relevant information before making your decision. No matter how much we deny it, death is a part of life we all must face, and this little book celebrates life through its humor and makes death a little easier for people to consider and talk about.

Rating:
Summary: Humorists will be especially pleased
Review: Most of us should have a little more death and funeral-related information in our knowledge base, and it would be a good idea to get it before we actually need it. But who wants to read about dying? I knew I'd need some guidance in this area eventually, so when I saw Ms. Carlson's book I thought I'd give it a read. Her "But Seriously..." sections contained all the information I'm likely to need, surrounded by pages and pages of humor, good humor. Jokes and cartoons -- there's something for everyone in "I Died Laughing: Funeral Education with a Light Touch." Humorists will be especially pleased.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of jokes and some info too
Review: This book has tons of jokes and cartoons with a death theme. Most of them are pretty funny. Interspersed are some 'but seriously' pages with real information about various aspects of death, dying and funerals. There is a table of contents in the front so you can go right to the serious stuff if you want. There is also a good list of funeral directors in the back of the book.