Living with the Dead

How We Care for the Deceased

Vibeke Maria Viestad, Andreas Viestad

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English

Reaktion Books
01 December 2023

Society & Social Sciences; Sociology: death & dying; Coping with death & bereavement

Death is universal. It will meet us all. But it's also a practical problem — what do we do with dead bodies? The Viestads live by a cemetery and are daily spectators of its routines, and their fascination with burials led them to dig deep to examine our relationship with the dead. Taking us on a journey through the world and the past, they explore how the deceased are honoured and cared for, cremated and buried. From archaeological sites in Spain, Israel and Russia to Ghana's fantasy coffins and environmentally friendly burials, and from cremations without fire to turning our dearly departed's ashes into diamonds, this empathetic and enthralling work is for anyone who knows their turn is coming, but who'd like a good book for the journey.

By: Vibeke Maria Viestad, Andreas Viestad
Imprint: Reaktion Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 138mm,
ISBN: 9781789147681
ISBN 10: 1789147689
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 01 December 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Vibeke Maria Viestad is an archaeologist at the University of Oslo and Honorary Research Fellow atWits University, Johannesburg. She is the author of Dress as Social Relations. Andreas Viestad is a food writer, TV chef, restaurateur and food activist. He is the longtime host of New Scandinavian Cooking and a former columnist of the Washington Post. He is the author of Kitchen of Light and Where Flavor was Born and lives between Oslo and Cape Town.

Reviews for Living with the Dead: How We Care for the Deceased

"""No bones about it, there are wild and wonderful ways to honor the dead. TV chef and newspaper columnist Andreas Viestad and his wife Vibeke live in a Norwegian cemetery. Their fascination with burials led them to dig deep into relationships with death.""-- ""Sunday Post"" ""Death is existential, instrumental, and emotional. In revealing the stories of ceremonies and practicalities from near and far, across space and time, the Viestads offer us an account that's deadly serious as well as driven by a curiosity about rituals and feelings. A beautifully written, highly informative, and surprisingly entertaining book.""--Thomas Hylland Eriksen, anthropologist and author of ""What is Anthropology?"" and ""Overheating: An Anthropology of Accelerated Change"""