Customer Reviews

One Foot in the Grave: Secrets of a Cemetery Sexton

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you enjoy looking around cemeteries, wondering what takes place behind the scenes, then you will enjoy this book. Chad Daybell writes an excellent book, with a humorous side of the cemetery caretaking business. I found myself laughing several times over incedents that took place, unbelievable requests made by the deceaseds relatives, the "war of the roses" cemetery style, and what a cemetery Sexton actually has to go through and put up with. There is a seriouse side to this book too, what to do and what not to do when visiting a cemetery, appropriate and inappropriate behavoir, and a cemetery is NOT a motocross track nor a sports field. I think it was an excellent read and I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cemeteries.

This book is great! It is just what it says it is- a humorous look at what goes on behind the scenes in a cemetery. I have read it several times, and I laugh out loud every time. I worked in a cemetery for several years, and this book brings back memories of the funny things that happen that people just don't hear about.

This was an amazingly humerous book despite the title. My only problem.....it wasn't nearly long enough. I thoroughly recommend it.

This was a fun and interesting read for me of the goings on of what happens in a cemetery. My dad is a sexton and he is the quiet type, so this was fun to read and learn all sorts of information out.

One of the first draws I had to "One Foot in the Grave: Secrets of a Cemetery Sexton" by Chad Daybell was a review by none other than Find A Grave founder, Jim Tipton.

Tipton writes:

"Finally, a book that glibly exposes the often funny, always poignant truth behind the life of an undertaker."

Touche. Daybell writes about his tenure as cemetery sexton for the local burial grounds of a small community in Utah nestled in the Rocky Mountains. In his five years as sexton, and preceding two years as a part time worker there, Daybell experienced a number of interesting, quirky, and usually fascinating occurrences. It's hard to tell which stories were more strange - those involving the living or those involving the dearly departed!

You'll find anecdotes of both in Daybell's charming and frank expose on the life of a dedicated cemetery worker. I often found myself shaking my head in disbelief or laughing right out loud at some of the bizarre tales Daybell shared about kooky people and restless spirits. Some of his tales are touching, while others are outright scary (I'll admit to a number of chills, and I'm fairly unshakable).

I thoroughly enjoyed this romp through a cemetery worker's life, and the trials, tribulations, ups and downs, scares and smiles that go along with it. Daybell's website's blurb about the book, "This is a collection of true graveyard stories you won't be able to put down", is not false advertising in the least. I read it in one sitting - often pausing to re-read, aloud, some of the wilder passages to my boyfriend.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning about the goings-on of graveyards or is interested in what it's actually like to work in a cemetery. Daybell also goes about quashing some age-old myths about burial grounds and provides a wealth of information that even I, a seasoned cemetery-lover, was unaware of. Case in point - even I was surprised to learn that rowdy teenagers nor cantankerous spirits were to blame for the repeated disappearance of grave flowers, trinkets, and statues.

Curious? That and so much more awaits you in this fun and frank work. Daybell writes in an effortless, outright, friendly manner - I often felt I was listening to an old friend regaling me with tales about his job while we shared laughs over a cup of tea. It was one of those books that you feel disappointed to finish - wishing there were still more stories and more time to spend with the author who has been entertaining you for the last few hours.

Grab your copy of One Foot in the Grave today and spend some time getting to know Chad Daybell and learn about his delightful and forever-interesting job as cemetery sexton. You'll be glad you did.

Unfortunately, I didn't find much reading pleasure in this book. The book covered some very basic details of cemeteries and the mourning process.

A well-written feast of a book. I goggled it down in one afternoon. I couldn't put it down. I just had to see what would happen next. This book is a must read for everyone. It will make you see death and cemeteries in a whole different light.

Thank you, I recieved the book in a timeley manner and it was in great shape!

B O R I N G...

I wish I had listened to the reviewer who said NOT for anyone over age 12... I wholeheartedly agree. I have 2 kids who wouldn't enjoy this either. Wish I had my money back. I feel ripped off.

I actually had to stop reading this book 2 paragraphs in to see what company would actually have published this. I would not be so harsh in my review of this book, had it been billed as Juvenile non-fiction. Poorly written, hardly edited, and what little factual information Mr. Daybell provides is unresearched and obviously wrong to anyone with any knowledge of the funeral industry. This book is not worth the money, effort of borrowing it from the library, or any of your time.