Publishers Weekly
★ 06/06/2022
In this profound treatise, sixth-generation funeral director Wilde (Confessions of a Funeral Director) reflects on death and the hereafter in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Wilde outlines a “progressive view of the afterlife” that sees death as a “liminal” space in which the deceased live on through the impact their words and actions had on the living: “We are living cemeteries... carried here—to this moment—by the love, hard work, and heritage of our ancestors.” He notes that this understanding of the self challenges white Americans’ belief in individualism by asserting that humans are fundamentally shaped by their ancestors and community rather than by one’s own whims. Christianity’s trinitarian “claims that God is a plural self” offer a religious variation on this theme, the author suggests, positing that, since humans were made in God’s image, they are also an amalgamation of “those we love in the past and future.” Wilde complements these ideas with autobiographical stories recounting his struggle to keep his business running during the uncertain early days of the pandemic when he had to wrestle with such questions as what to do with anti-mask funeral attendees. In a wonderfully conversational tone, Wilde tackles themes of mortality, history, and justice with masterful felicity, delivering bracing big picture ideas about death and community. The result is an exceptionally soulful and insightful take on identity and the ways the dead linger among the living. (May)
From the Publisher
"In a wonderfully conversational tone, Wilde tackles themes of mortality, history, and justice with masterful felicity, delivering bracing big picture ideas about death and community. The result is an exceptionally soulful and insightful take on identity and the ways the dead linger among the living." ——Publishers Weekly, starred review
"A stunning book about death, life, faith, and the love that binds all of us to each other. The story Caleb Wilde weaves together feels, at times, like a near-death experience: a powerful, hopeful, and life-altering encounter with the other side." —Matthew Paul Turner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of What Is God Like? and When God Made You
"There's a weird hush around afterlife connections. But Caleb Wilde's book will help peel away any shame or shyness you have around holding space for those you love." —Megan Devine, author of It's OK That You're Not OK
"Caleb Wilde once again brings us into the funeral parlor of our hearts and lets us all weep. A delicious and intimate look at how a slight shift in our understanding of death can bring peace and healing. All of us can learn to grieve and reconnect with our beloved ancestral roots because of Wilde's words." —Kevin Garcia, mystic theologian and practitioner, and author of Bad Theology Kills
"This deeply reassuring book is for anyone who has ever grieved deeply, wondered where their loved ones are, and yearned to stay connected to them." —Claire Bidwell Smith, author of Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief
"I found All the Ways Our Dead Still Speak speaking volumes. But don't be misled: what appears to be a book about death is actually a book about life and its deepest, most imperative questions. This gifted and perceptive writer peers into our souls, takes us down roads traveled and roads yet to be traveled, and brings us home." —Philip Gulley, author of If Grace Is True and the Harmony and Porch Talk series
"All the Ways Our Dead Still Speak is a deep, intentional exploration of lineage, ancestry, and the living, breathing influence and pervasiveness of the dead. In beautiful and exploratory writing, Caleb Wilde reminds us that the dead—and their legacies, stories, and wounds—do not live 'back there,' but 'up here,' alongside us each and every day." —Shelby Forsythia, author of Your Grief, Your Way
"Caleb Wilde's stories of life, love, and death as a funeral director reveal all the ways the dead remain with us and remind us who we are. As I read, I allowed myself to feel closer to my own parents. This book reminded me that I will always carry their love and that their voices will carry me too." —Mallory McDuff, author of Our Last Best Act: Planning for the End of Our Lives to Protect the People and Places We Love
