What Happens When You Die: From Your Last Breath to the First Spadeful [Paperback]

Robert T. Hatch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 18, 1998

This intriguing glimpse into the once mysterious aspects of death tells what happens-- step-by-step-- during the embalming and cremation processes.

Here you will find information once known only to funeral directors, including:

What happens to the body when attacked by organisms it once easily fought off

The varied religious beliefs surrounding funerals and wakes

The evolution of embalming: From the ancient Egyptian religious rite to embalming as we know it today, which began during the Civil War, When bodies were shipped home for burial

Alternatives to embalming, including mummification... and much more

"What Happens When You Die" explains simply and in startling detail-- with no touch of the macabre-- what happens when we enter a realm where two divergent forces control our destiny; the undertaker and the soul.

Product Details

• Paperback: 108 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp. (August 18, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806516674
• ISBN-13: 978-0806516677
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,366,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Mortuary Science

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Intensely matter-of-factly written, April 27, 2000

By 

Frank Ruelas (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Happens When You Die: From Your Last Breath to the First Spadeful (Paperback)

What stands out the most after reading this book is the manner in which the author presents something that will happen to each of us despite our station in life.

The author does a very nice job separating the philosophical, religious, and spiritual aspects that cultures attach to death by presenting a play-by-play rendition of what happens to us at the moment of death and carrying it forward. I would even offer that some people might say that the author is very sterile sounding at times in his description to the point of sounding clinical. However, I feel this adds to the effectiveness of the author's presentation and allows for the reader to add his or her own subjective evaluations of the physical aspects of death.

I admire the book's approach in dealing with a topic that is often limited to hushed conversations.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Left with more questions than answers, August 15, 2001

By 

Lynn Boutin (Chicopee, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Happens When You Die: From Your Last Breath to the First Spadeful (Paperback)

First of all this book was typed with very small type..so if your eye sight isn't what it used to be, don't bother..unless you have a magnifying glass handy.

The contents of the book left me with more questions than answers. I wish the author would of been more in depth with the procedures of embalming such as the orafices are plugged up...well, with what? Also there must be a few mistakes made in the business of death...none were mentioned. Also alittle on decomisition would of helped me to understand the dying process.

This book left me hanging in my casket!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad, March 4, 2004

By 

Peter Stines (Anahuac, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Happens When You Die: From Your Last Breath to the First Spadeful (Paperback)

I had worked for a funeral home at one time, many years ago. I wish this book had been available then, since there were, and still are so many questions. More often than not, it's the family of the departed who want to know what really happpens and this book would have eased a lot of the tension. Morticians seem to have a mysterious aire about them, almost as if their work is a deep, dark secret. But there is little that is secret about the emblaming and dressing process here. The author covers just about every REASONABLE question one could have about the business. Anything further could be obtained through books devoted to the actual emblaming process. You might think this is a macabre little book, but undertakers have a difficult task, to make the deceased look as good as possible.