Todd Harra

Why do we embalm the deceased? Why are funerals so expensive? Is there a reason coffins are shaped the way they are? Where does the tradition of viewing the body come from? Ceremonies for honoring the deceased are crucial parts of our lives, but few people know where our traditional practices come from - and what they reveal about our history, culture, and beliefs about death. In Last Rites, author Todd Harra takes readers on a fascinating exploration of American funeral customs - exploring where they came from, what they mean, and how they are still evolving. Funeral practices are always changing - sometimes due to technology, respect for tradition, shifting sensibilities, or even to thwart grave robbers. Here you’ll learn about the ancient influences for American rites, how the funerals of political figures and fallen soldiers shaped our practices, answers to the most puzzling enigmas about the undertaker’s craft, and much more. The American funeral continues to evolve. Today, many people are turning to approaches such as green burial, mushroom suits, Aquamation (flameless cremation), and even composting. Whether you’re planning a funeral service or are simply intrigued by the meaning behind American burial practices, Last Rites is an informative and compelling exploration of the history - and future - of the ceremonies we use to say farewell to those who have departed this world.

Mortuary Confidential does for the undertaker profession what Stiff did for cadavers--it manages to be as informative and heartwarming as it is irreverent and hilarious. This collection of real stories from morticians and funeral directors across America feeds mainstream readers' dark curiosity and sense of humor about our world of death with a behind-the-scenes glimpse into every conceivable facet from the people who touch it every day. From shoot-outs at funerals to dead men screaming and runaway corpses, undertakers have plenty of unusual stories to tell--and a special way of telling them. In this macabre and moving compilation, funeral directors across the country share their most embarrassing, jaw-dropping, irreverent, and deeply poignant stories about life at death's door. Discover what scares them and what moves them to tears. Learn about rookie mistakes and why death sometimes calls for duct tape. Enjoy tales of the dearly departed spending eternity naked from the waist down and getting bottled and corked--in a wine bottle. And then meet their families--the weepers, the punchers, the stolidly dignified, and the ones who deliver their dead mother in a pickup truck. If there's one thing undertakers know, it's that death drives people crazy. These are the best bodies of work from America's darkest profession.

Tripp Clipper is back, this time as a deadly outbreak of unknown origin spreads through Charleston like wildfire. A routine autopsy on a couple of unidentified homicide victims takes a turn for the weird when Homeland Security swoops in and seizes the bodies. Even weirder, Clip and the attending pathologist are debriefed at a safe house where a doctor pokes and prods them to determine if they were infected, but Homeland Security won't tell them with what. Two homeless guys shooting each other isn't normally a matter of national security. But every time Clip investigates what the John Does were involved in, Homeland Security intervenes. When the bodies start piling up in his morgue--all seemingly healthy adults--he knows it's connected. There's been an outbreak and the government is trying to get a handle on it quickly and quietly. That is until it mushrooms out of control. Things turn for the worse when the funeral home's secretary is hospitalized, quickly followed by his girlfriend. Government officials place Charleston under quarantine, and DMORT arrives to deal with all the bodies. Clip needs to find out what's going on before half his city (and his loved ones) end up dead. It all started with those two John Does. He has to figure out which one is Patient Zero.