Good Mourning

Good Mourning by Elizabeth Meyer with Caitlin Moscatello tells the story of one women’s time spent working at a funeral home, a funeral home for the rich in New York City.  Meyer, a self-described wealthy, party girl is left lost at the death of her father.  Having put together a successful funeral for him she lands a job as a receptionist at the home her family used with the idea of becoming a funeral planner.  The book includes stories of a few of the funerals she worked on and the reactions of the people in her life, both her family who can’t see why she is doing this and her co-workers many of whom (understandingly) take a dislike to her as a representative of the type of people who treat those who provide them with service with disdain.

I must admit I came away from the book with the feeling that Meyer was a rather self-involved dilettante.  She is self-aware enough to realize this and deals with it in the postscript – principally by saying she doesn’t care what others think of her.  I would cautiously recommend it.  The stories are interesting but the story teller is not and she does inject herself into the stories and awful lot.