One Last Dance: My Life in Mortuary Scrubs and G-strings

A sassy, heart-breaking and jaw-dropping memoir of life behind the scenes in a funeral home and strip club, written with all the panache, honesty and sensitivity of Rosie Waterland's The Anti-Cool Girl and Sarah Krasnostein's The Trauma Cleaner.

Emma Jane Holmes had her dream job, working in the funeral industry, caring for those who could no longer care for themselves. But when the bills mounted after her marriage breakdown, she turned to her other dream - dancing on stage as a showgirl - and her glittering alter ego Madison was born. Emma Jane kept Madison a secret. Madison kept Emma Jane an even bigger one.

But what happens when death touches the neon world of the strip club? And sex - in the form of a cute co-worker - encroaches on the funeral home? Could the answer be life, lived in the day, because that's the only day you have?

Emma Jane Holmes' debut will take you into the mortuary, cemetery and crematorium - and behind the scenes in night clubs - and answer all the questions you never wanted to ask ...



PRAISE

'A beautiful insight into two industries we're all curious about, full of warmth and wit' - Carly Findlay OAM, author of Say Hello

'Meet Australia's most outrageous mortician ... her stories are deadly' - news.com.au

'Emma Jane Holmes shines a beautiful light on love, death and connection' - Samantha X, author of Hooked

'We're all going to die sometime ... Emma Jane Holmes brings so much light to the subject' - Andy Dowling, Andy Social podcast

Emma Jane Holmes has spent most of her adult life working in death care, and her passion for writing led to the publication of her blog, Heels and Hearses, which amassed readers worldwide. The popularity of her adventures in the funeral home surprised her, landing a book deal. The blog has since been unpublished, the stories to be found exclusively in the book you hold now.

When not working with the dead, Emma Jane could be found on stage as an exotic dancer, trying to be sexy. She attempted to maintain a divide between the two worlds but the adult industry was as fascinating as the funeral home and is the backbone to her strength and character today.

Dancing is still an important part of her life; often attending pole fitness classes pretending she doesn't know all the tricks, and wearing sequins during the day, just because. Emma Jane has left the city and mortuary behind her, currently living on the Mid North Coast of Australia studying a Bachelor of Arts.

Photo: Darren Leigh Roberts