Washoe County Library System

"American Afterlife by Kate Sweeney reveals this world through a collective portrait of Americans past and present who find themselves personally involved with death: a klatch of obit writers in the desert, a funeral voyage on the Atlantic, a fourth-generation funeral director--even a Midwestern museum that takes us back in time to meet our death obsessed Victorian progenitors. Each story illuminates details in another until something larger is revealed:...

"As if being stuffed into last year's dress pants at his cousin's wake weren't uncomfortable enough, thirteen-year-old Jimmy has just learned from his mother that he has to say a few words at the funeral the next day. Why him? What could he possibly say about his cousin, who ruined everything they did? He can't recall one birthday party, family gathering, or school event with Patrick that didn't result in injury or destruction. As Jimmy attempts to...

Elizabeth Mountbatten never expected her father to die so suddenly, so young, leaving her with a throne to fill and a global institution to govern. Crowned at twenty-five, she was already a wife and mother as she began her journey towards becoming a queen. As Britain lifted itself out of the shadow of war, the new monarch faced her own challenges. Her mother doubted her marriage; her uncle-in-exile derided her abilities; her husband resented the sacrifice...

The undertaker practices the Dismal Trade with consummate skill, transforming the ugliness of death into a thing of dignity and beauty. Now he is called to disguise the suicide of a famous financier. Only his art can save America's financial markets. His wife's task on this day is secret, an act of understanding and dedication. In the end it is she who, through love, is able to transcend death.

Dante Mancuso works for The Company, a security organization operating just this side of the law. Returning home to San Francisco's Little Italy to attend the funeral of his father, Dante finds himself being pursued by Frank Ying, a Chinese detective eager to know the secrets Dante hides.

Before dying, Nora devises a plan to make José, her ex-husband, take care of her funeral during the height of Passover celebration. But despite her meticulousness she misses something--the only flaw in the plan, a mysterious photograph left under the bed, which leads to unexpected outcomes that remind us that sometimes the greatest love stories are hidden in the smallest places. A heartwarming story of love, doubt, faith, and the importance of family....

An intimate, moving portrait of Queen Elizabeth and Tony Blair following the death of Diana. They struggle to reach a compromise between what was a private tragedy for the Royal Family and the public's demand for an open display of mourning.