I give her credit for writing so compassionately ( )

Reviewed for Shelf Awareness, September 2015

http://www.3rsblog.com/2015/09/book-talk-good-mourning-elizabeth-meyer-shelf-awa... ( )

"When I was twenty-one and most of my friends were Daddy-do-you-know-someone?-ing their way into fancy banks and PR firms, I was grieving the loss of my father, who had just died of cancer. That's how I found myself in the lobby of Crawford Funeral Home, one of several premier funeral homes in Manhattan, begging for a job one day."

After finding satisfaction in taking charge of her beloved father's funeral arrangements, young New York socialite Elizabeth Meyer joins the staff at Crawford Funeral Home despite the objections of family and friends. Though hired as a receptionist, Elizabeth's curiosity about all aspects of the business, including the mortuary room, and her ability to relate to Crawford's upscale clientele, soon sees her appointed as the Family Services Coordinator.

Unlike Caitlin Doughty's memoir Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, published earlier this year, Meyer's memoir has no real agenda, though she is sincere in her belief that mourners should have the opportunity to create a meaningful funeral experience that honours their loved one.

Good Mourning has a largely lighthearted tone as Meyer shares her experiences at Crawford. From body fluids leaking all over her Gucci shoes, to missing brains, to making arrangements for dozens of Lamborghini's to line Madison Avenue. She is discrete as she describes the excesses of unnamed celebrity and society funerals, respectful as she tells of families grief, and is matter of fact about the more confronting aspects of the funeral industry.

Eventually tiring of the infighting and corporate ethos plaguing Crawford, Meyer left after a few years, and after further study started her own private consulting firm, helping people to navigate the funeral industry.

Authored with the assistance of freelance writer Caitlin Moscatello, Good Mourning is written in a conversational style. Elizabeth comes across charmingly enthusiastic, and genuinely passionate about her chosen career. Meyer's instinct for dealing with grieving families is remarkably mature, but her youth is apparent in what she shares of personal life. She has a difficult relationship with her mother, doesn't understand the hostility directed at her by her colleagues, and takes her wealth and privilege for granted.

Good Mourning is a quick, interesting and entertaining read, and Elizabeth Meyer shares her story with honesty, humour, and compassion. ( )

When I opened this book I was not sure what I would find inside. Was I going to cry for the next few days or was just sadness waiting in the pages? I was wonderfully surprised at the content; witty, clever, humorous, yes, sad at times, eye-opening, irreverent, and tongue in check with quite a different formula for funerals that I found I quite liked. In the Southern Bible Belt a funeral is almost a religious experience; Ms. Meyers ideas of the send off were so different from we have, I found myself saying, yes, why not! What a wonderful idea to have all the things that person loved and valued placed at the funeral. I found this a wonderful idea.

The portrayals of the ultra rich as pampered, spoiled, selfish, royalty were educational as I did not realize the rich expected so much to be done for and given to them as a course of life, a product of their privileges. As Ms. Meyers says in this book, death is the one thing that unites all of us, rich or poor.

I enjoyed this book from the first paragraph to last sentence as Ms. Meyers and Ms Moscatello entertained and kept my interest as they documented Ms. Meyers travels from an ultra rich privileged spoiled party planning young woman grieving for her father to a savvy, professional, successive, business woman with a knack for fulfilling the humane need at the time of grief in her own unique way; I learned more about the mortuary business than I hope I will ever need to know. I will admit I have often wondered how they did this or that, and Ms. Meyers answered those questions and more in a most entertaining way. I think I fell a little into envy with Bill, the ultimate surgeon, beautician, makeup artist, and all on dead bodies. I hope the person that does me up is as talented as Bill. From the hilarity of missing brains, mourning the Cardinal, mob funerals, friends dying of OD’s, Ms. Meyers seeing spirits, inter-office bickering and jealousy at the premier Crawford Mortuary, or Ms. Meyers just helping someone thru the death of their loved one with genuine caring, the book is a gem! I am so glad I did not pass up this book.

I would give this book 5 stars. Thank you Ms. Meyers and Ms. Moscatello for this entertaining and informative book. I loved reading every word, and I want my funeral to be a party/celebration. In the South we have a saying, “when someone’s dies, we immediately have the frying pan in one hand and the chicken in the other,”, I am going to ask for them to grab guitars, banjo’s, and BBQ grills, let’s have a party.

I received this book from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an honest opinion. ( )