I just finished a delightful book called The Undertaker’s Wife. You wouldn’t think it would be delightful by the title but it is a very good read.This is a true story of Dee Oliver (who is also the author) and her husband Johnnie, the undertaker.
The book starts out telling us about how Dee and Johnnie met, dated and married. The book chronicles their 20+ years of marriage. You can imagine the stories Dee has to tell about being married to an undertaker. One of my favorites is the time they planned an overnight vacation just the two of them. It almost didn’t happen because of course Johnnie had work to do. To save the vacation, much to Dee’s dismay, Johnnie drove them to the hotel with the corpse in the back of the hearse. He had the valet park the vehicle way in the back of the hotel parking garage. Dee and Johnnie enjoyed their overnight stay and the next day Johnnie delivered the body to a nearby cemetery.
The rest of the book deals with life after Johnnie’s death. Dee actually goes back to school and earns her mortuary degree. Her brother-in-law doesn’t want her to join the family business so she finds work at a funeral home run by and for African Americans.
Along the way Dee gives very practical tips on dying well,dealing with death and surviving the loss of a loved one. Her faith in God has helped her through all of her trials.
(I was given this book to review by HarperCollins Christian Publishing. All opinions are my own.)
(I was given this book to review by HarperCollins Christian Publishing. All opinions are my own.)
