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All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, An Exploration of People Who Have Made Death Their Life’s Work

By: Hayley Campbell

We are surrounded by death. It is in our news, our nursery rhymes, our true-crime podcasts. Yet from a young age, we are told that death is something to be feared. How are we supposed to know what we’re so afraid of, when we are never given the chance to look? Fueled by a childhood fascination with death, journalist Hayley Campbell searches for answers in the people who make a living by working with the dead.

Tombs and Tomes is Congressional Cemetery’s book club. We meet every other month in our historic Chapel and via Zoom.  We discuss primarily non-fiction books and our selections have no rhyme and reason; however, our choices tend to stray towards the macabre, as is natural for a cemetery book club.

Our very first meeting was in September 2013 and we chose to read Stiff, by Mary Roach.

It’s free to join, and mostly free to attend. For each meeting, we simply ask that you bring either a small donation or a bit of food or wine to share with the group. Extra points for brownies! (when we meet in person)

Interested in learning more? Read our Blog Post about Tombs and Tomes, or request to join our Goodreads group.

Still interested? Sign up here!

Stable Meeting Invitation here!