"...Sarah Murray never gave much thought to what might ultimately happen to her remains--until her father died. Now, puzzled by the choices he made about the disposal of his "organic matter," she embarks on a series of voyages to discover how death is commemorated in different cultures. Death's Doors is Murray's exploration of the extraordinary creativity unleashed when we seek to dignify the dead. Along the way, she encounters a royal cremation in...

Fascinated by our pervasive fear of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty set out to discover how other cultures care for the dead. In rural Indonesia, she watches a man clean and dress his grandfather's mummified body, which has resided in the family home for two years. In La Paz, she meets Bolivian natitas (cigarette-smoking, wish-granting human skulls), and in Tokyo she encounters the Japanese kotsuage ceremony, in which relatives use chopsticks...

A practical guide to managing the difficult legal aspects surrounding the death of a loved one offers succinct advice and checklists for a range of practical topics, from funeral arrangements and social security to accounts and taxes.

"Ritual is one of the oldest, and certainly most enigmatic, threads in the history of human culture. It presents a profound paradox: people ascribe the utmost importance to their rituals, but few can explain why they are so important. Apparently pointless ceremonies pervade every documented society, from handshakes to hexes, hazings to parades. Before we ever learned to farm, we were gathering in giant stone temples to perform elaborate rites and...

"It's painful when children lose their pets, and The End of Something Wonderful helps them handle their feelings when they can't find the right words. In a warm, understanding, sometimes funny way, it explains how to plan a backyard funeral to say goodbye, from choosing a box and a burial spot to giving a eulogy. Most of all, it reassures kids that it's not the end of everything . . . and that Something Wonderful can happen again."--Provided by publisher....

Friends, relatives, and foes trickle in to pay final respects to Patrick's mother, Eleanor. An American heiress, Eleanor married into the British aristocracy, giving up the grandeur of her upbringing for "good works" freely bestowed on everyone but her own son, who finds himself questioning whether his transition to a life without parents will indeed be the liberation he had so long imagined.

On Hindu rituals, beliefs and traditions.

Moon smiles down on Earth and observes different countries celebrating Ramadan until her crescent tinkle triggers the start of Eid.