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Sarah Murray

Making an Exit: From the Magnificent to the Macabre. How We Dignify the Dead Paperback – 1 Jun. 2011

by Sarah Murray (Author)

4.4 46 ratings

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Writer and journalist Sarah Murray never gave much thought to what might ultimately happen to her remains. That was until her father died. Puzzled by the choice he made about the disposal of his "organic matter," she set off on a series of voyages to discover how death is celebrated and commemorated in different cultures. Making an Exit is Murray's exploration of the extraordinary creativity unleashed when we seek to dignify our dead. Along the way, she encounters everything from a Balinese royal cremation, Mexico's Day of the Dead celebrations, a Czech chandelier made from human bones, a weeping ceremony in Iran, and a village in the Philippines where the casketed dead are left hanging in caves. She even goes to Africa to commission he own Ghanaian coffin. Her accounts of these journeys are engaging, poignant, and funny. But this is also a very personal quest -for on her travels, Murray is seeking inspiration for her own eventual send-off.

Print length

266 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Coptic
Publication date

1 Jun. 2011
Dimensions

12.7 x 1.42 x 20.32 cm
ISBN-10

095587713X
ISBN-13

978-0955877131
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Product description

Review

"Making An Exit" is a travel book of the best and deepest kind. Sarah Murray goes far afield in her fascinating search for the ways we express grief and hope for consolation. But her richest journey is into her own heart, as she mourns her father and thinks ahead to her own death.
--Katherine Ashenburg, author of The Mourner's Dance: What We Do When People Die.

About the Author

Sarah Murray is a journalist, editor, longtime Financial Times contributor and author of Moveable Feasts: The Incredible Journeys of the Things We Eat. Born in the UK, she lives in New York City.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Coptic (1 Jun. 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 266 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 095587713X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0955877131
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.7 x 1.42 x 20.32 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 929,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 1,516 in Anthropological Customs
- 5,589 in Social & Cultural Anthropology

Customer reviews:
4.4 46 ratings

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4.4 out of 5

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M. Stewart

Mindblowingly brilliant

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 July 2011

Verified Purchase

Making an Exit is the beautifully written story of Sarah Murray's journey around the world to explore funeral customs. This she does with stunning and often very amusing portraits of the people she encounters and of the ceremonies she attends. Another dimension to the book is Sarah's encyclopedic knowledge of funeral history, current trends in western funerals and of the way things work in the funeral industry, all backed up by numerous research references. These two elements are linked throughout the book by deeply touching reflections on the life and funeral of Sarah's own father and by her musings on the options for her own eventual send-off. She has a plan and it's a good one. I just hope it won't involve her incredibly cool Ghanaian coffin so that the V&A can have it!

If you've got Mary Roach's 'Stiff' and Tom Jokinen's 'Curtains' on your bookshelf then 'Making an Exit' is the next obvious and very worthy neighbour!

And if death isn't your thing - READ IT ANYWAY!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2018

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nice gift, nice book for fans of travels, rituals and talking about death

Helpful

Crouchie

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 January 2012

Verified Purchase

Originally saw this book in America and decided not to buy. So glad I found it here on Amazon much cheaper as it's paperback. This book is not my normal reading material but it is so unusual - it's informative, useful, funny and sad and compulsive reading. Got me thinking !!

Helpful

Scott Johns

Definitely Different.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 February 2015

Verified Purchase

Definitely different slant on the final exit from life. Fascinating reading on how the human race deals with death in different cultures in the world combined with overtones of a travel book interspersed with personal family history.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 November 2013

Verified Purchase

Great book, if you like this kind of reading then this is the book for you! Good story as well, as a great author!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 March 2012

Verified Purchase

I bought his book with high hopes after reading many good reviews. So I am writing this as something of a corrective. I found this book profoundly disappointing, and have to admit I'm truly baffled by the praise heaped upon it. I found it tiresome, tedious, unamusing and above all shallow. It reads like an enthusiastic amateur's hoilday journal, fleshed out with cod philosophy, a lack of meaningful insight and frankly fatuous observations.

It's a pity as this is a subject crying out out for a well-written, thoughtful approach.

2 people found this helpful

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Graham Smith

If you are afraid of dying !

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2013

Verified Purchase

Read this and laugh at the human race,after all,no one leaves this life alive.Although we all try to avoid the finally.

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sclee

don't be put off by the title

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 June 2011

Sarah Murray's book is a considerable achievement. It' does several things at once, all beautifully: it's a moving account of the author's relationship with her father and her mother; it's also a travel book, and then a call' for' all of us to think more realistically about the ending of our life. This she does with humour, elegance and grace without being the least bit maudlin. Far from it, `Making and Exit' is a real tonic.

2 people found this helpful

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Making an Exit: From the Magnificent to the Macabre. How We Dignify the Dead Paperback – 1 Jun. 2011

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