After Life () von Merrie-Ellen Wilcox

This nonfiction book for middle-grade readers examines the history, beliefs and customs surrounding death in cultures around the world.

Introduction

Chapter One: We Are Stardust

• The afterlife
• Recycling souls
• Life in another realm
• Rivers

Chapter Two: Every Living Thing

• It’s all about oxygen
• How long do we live?
• A hard life for babies
• Gimme shelter—and food and water
• Limbo

Chapter Three: Nature or Science?

• Turning off the machines
• Drawing the line
• Passing life on
• Caring for people who are dying
• Helping people die
• Birds

Chapter Four: Atoms to Atoms

• Burial
• Mummification
• Embalming
• Cremation
• Sky burial
• Burial at sea
• Green burial
• Coffins

Chapter Five: Farewell, Adieu

• Washing and dressing
• Prayers and parties
• Processions
• Ceremonies
• Mourning
• Colors

Chapter Six: Healing after Loss

• Grief is a process
• The 8 of grief
• Just get over it?
• Time: The great healer?
• When someone dies by suicide
• When pets die
• When you are grieving
• When someone else is grieving
• Festivals

Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Resources
Glossary
Index

Why do we die? Why can't we live forever? What happens to us after death? Moving between science and culture, After Life: Ways We Think About Death takes a straightforward look at these and other questions long taboo in our society. By showing the fascinating, diverse ways in which we understand death, both today and throughout our history, the book also shines a light on what it is to be human. Each chapter includes a brief telling of a death legend, myth or history from a different culture or tradition, from Adam and Eve to Wolf and Coyote, and ends with a section on a common theme in our thinking about death, such as rivers and birds in the afterlife, the colors that different cultures use to symbolize death, and, of course, ghosts. The final chapter is about grief, which is both a universal human experience and unique to each person. The text offers suggestions for ways to think about our grief, when to ask for help and how to talk to friends who are grieving.