How We Die by Sherwin B. Ireland is an absolutely fascinating book. It had been part(unread) of my personal library of books about gravestones, gravestone carvers, funerary art, funerary tradtions...everything pertaining to death and how we deal with it. I finally read it about five years ago and I highly recommend it.

My particular area of interest in gravestone matters is New England slate gravestones between 1650-ish and 1825-ish. (Most willows and urns make my eyes glaze over.) And the carver John Just Geyer (son of carver Henry Christian Geyer). Also typographical ligatures on gravestones. But my interest is broad and wide-ranging.

A beautiful novel pertaining to dementia I highly recommend is The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean. Insightful fiction about death include several by one of my favorite authors, Robert Hellenga — The Truth About Death and his last book Love, Death, and Rare Books. (And for music, you might want to read his Blues Lessons.)

Linn (once known here in the distant past as The Thanitolithologist before choosing Bat Goddess as my nom de Mudcat)