Curious Coffins and Riveting Rituals (Hardcover)

Discover the world’s most fascinating death and funeral traditions in this illustrated modern-day memento mori.

Embark on a whirlwind tour of burial, preservation, and memorial practices and landmarks from across the globe and throughout history, ranging from the customs of our ancestors to contemporary practices. In these vibrantly illustrated pages, you can explore how humans from time immemorial have honored and remembered the dead, including:

• Mummification in ancient Egypt
• Post-mortem photography in Victorian England
• Open-pyre cremations in India
• Ghana’s fantasy coffins
• The Japanese ritual of kotsuage (“the gathering of the bones”)
• And much more

Author-illustrator YY Liak tackles the thorny theme of death with a deep compassion for the universal experiences of loss and grief and an intrepid interest in the unique mortuary practices that have arisen across continents, cultures, and millennia. Her colorful, modern illustrations bring to life a whole spectrum of human beliefs about death and dying.

EXISTENTIAL AND ENDLESSLY ENTERTAINING: Whether you’re casually curious about what happens to our bodies after we die or intimately experienced with death and its attendant customs, appreciating the rituals of others can help you develop and deepen your own.

MARVELOUSLY MACABRE, TREMENDOUSLY THOUGHTFUL: Dynamic, full-color artwork accompanies informative and intriguing text, rendering everything in energetic detail—from a step-by-step breakdown of the embalming process to detailed diagrams of ancestral altars around the world.

A GIFT FOR CURIOUS MINDS: This intriguing volume makes an excellent present for sociology lovers and morbidly curious readers. It’s a perfect fit for anyone who enjoys an accessible, illustrated take on history and anthropology and can also be shared with younger readers to kickstart important discussions about death and dying.

Perfect for:

• Science buffs and history lovers
• Adults and teens interested in death and funeral traditions
• Anyone curious about different cultures' beliefs about death and mortality
• Readers seeking resources that demystify and destigmatize death and dying
• Fans of popular science and sociology authors like Caitlin Doughty, Mary Roach, and Sue Black

YY Liak is a Chinese-Singaporean illustrator and writer currently based in Jersey City, New Jersey. The daughter of two medical professionals, she grew up with a very frank understanding of death and an insatiable appetite for all things anthropological, mythological, and historical.