9780062742995
Play Sample

Confessions of a Funeral Director audiobook

(1495 ratings)
33% Cheaper than Audible
Get for $0.00
  • $9.99 per book vs $14.95 at Audible
    Good for any title to download and keep
  • Listen at up to 4.5x speed
    Good for any title to download and keep
  • Fall asleep to your favorite books
    Set a sleep timer while you listen
  • Unlimited listening to our Classics.
    Listen to thousands of classics for no extra cost. Ever
Loading ...
Regular Price: 15.99 USD

Confessions of a Funeral Director Audiobook Summary

A sixth-generation funeral director and writer of the popular “must read” (Time magazine) blog Confessions of a Funeral Director reflects on mortality and the powerful lessons death holds for every one of us in this compassionate and thoughtful spiritual memoir that combines the humor and insight of Smoke Gets in Your Eyes with the poignancy and brevity of When Breath Becomes Air.

Death. It happens to everyone, yet most of us don’t want to talk about this final chapter of existence. Sixth-generation funeral director Caleb Wilde intimately understands this reticence and fear. The son of an undertaker, he hesitated to embrace the legacy of running his family’s business. Yet he discovered that caring for the deceased and their loved ones profoundly changed his faith and his perspective on death–and life itself. “Yes, death can be bad. Yes, death can be negative,” he acknowledges, “but it can also be beautiful. And that alternate narrative needs to be discussed.”

In Confessions of a Funeral Director, he talks about his experiences and pushes back against the death-negative ethos of our culture, opening a thoughtful, poignant conversation to help us see the end of life in a positive and liberating way. In the wry, compassionate, and honest voice that has charmed his growing legions of blog readers, Wilde offers an intimate look inside his business, offering information on unspoken practices around death such as the embalming process, beautiful and memorable stories about families in the wake of death, and, most importantly, a fresh and wise perspective on how embracing death can allow us to embrace life.

Confessions of a Funeral Director is the story of one man learning how death illuminates and deepens the meaning of existence–insights that can help us all pursue and cherish full, rich lives.

Other Top Audiobooks

Confessions of a Funeral Director Audiobook Narrator

Eric Jason Martin is the narrator of Confessions of a Funeral Director audiobook that was written by Caleb Wilde

Caleb Wilde is a partner at his family’s business, Wilde Funeral Home, in Parkesburg, Pennsylvania. He writes the popular blog Confessions of a Funeral Director and recently completed postgraduate work at Winchester University, England, in the program, “Death, Religion and Culture.” He has been featured in top media outlets, including The Huntington Post, The Atlantic, and TIME magazine, and on NPR, NBC, and ABC’s 20/20.

About the Author(s) of Confessions of a Funeral Director

Caleb Wilde is the author of Confessions of a Funeral Director

More From the Same

Subjects

The publisher of the Confessions of a Funeral Director is HarperAudio. includes the following subjects: The BISAC Subject Code is Christian Life, Death, Grief, Bereavement, Religion

Additional info

The publisher of the Confessions of a Funeral Director is HarperAudio. The imprint is HarperAudio. It is supplied by HarperAudio. The ISBN-13 is 9780062742995.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

Goodreads Reviews

Laura

August 21, 2018

I’d been following this author for some time on social media when I heard he had written a book. Many of his blogs have been interesting and even humorous about his life in the family funeral business of three generations in a small town. The book is far deeper, more spiritual and insightful into his personal life than I thought it would be. There were many interesting stories along the way of the many different reactions to death and the funeral process in families and his part within it, the lessons he learned along the way. Told with candor, humor, sensitivity and coming to his own reckoning, I enjoyed hearing his thoughts on life and death, finding beauty and sacredness in both.

Andi

July 30, 2017

A powerful, positive, honest meditation on death . . . as someone who has found herself with death as her companion in a lot of ways in my life, I found this book to speak truth to my experience, to encourage me to embrace the way I don't always see death as an attack, and to honor my own grief. Highly recommend.

Ashley

September 12, 2017

This poignant, thought-provoking memoir takes a look at life through the lense of death in a manner akin to something like Six Feet Under meets When Breath Becomes Air. It is a slow burn but I savoured every page.

Leah

November 03, 2017

The writing is beautiful, sincere, and very human. Caleb Wilde, who like Caitlin Doughty is a young funeral director who is part of the "positive death" movement, recounts how he came into the family business, at first reluctantly and then embracing it. Each story he recounts is personal and meaningful. No matter how hard we try to ignore it, death is a part of life, something we see in each incident he recounts. I came away from this book appreciating how sacred both life and death are. Although about death, this book is not depressing. Even the saddest stories here are beautiful.

Leigh

February 10, 2018

For honest reflections about death and grief, I often turn to Caleb Wilde. In his memoir Confessions Of A Funeral Director, Caleb’s honesty about his doubts and anxiety makes his insights that much more compelling. He suggests (and I agree) we adopt a death positive narrative and shows how society’s death negative narrative and the church’s heaven narrative actually hurt us and our ability to mourn.Through examples from his professional experience, as well as his own personal losses, Caleb illustrates the importance of grieving well, as well as a healthier perspective about death and dying. One of my favorite stories was about Sam, an LGBTQ woman who attended a church where she was not allowed to become a member. Even though her sexuality meant she could not fully be a part of her church, she expressed wishes for her funeral to be there. The way the pastor and Sam's family, many of whom were not affirming, responded to this wish was incredibly moving.Caleb muses that death is the common denominator that helps us connect, even when we don't see eye to eye. It can bring us together or it can tear us apart. But when we allow it, death helps bridge our differences and reminds us that love is the reason for all things. This chapter might be the reason to read this book.We need to have more conversations like this. We need to talk about what really matters. We need to talk not only about the kind of life we want to have but the kind of death we want to have. This book is a great step in helping us have that conversation.I appreciated how Caleb covered many different kinds of loss, including infertility and adoption. He also emphasizes the importance of proximity and presence in times of loss, which might be the best takeaway anyone could receive. It's never about having the right thing to say but simply showing up and being there for one another.I can no longer remember how I first came across Caleb's blog several years ago but I do remember thinking two things: 1) this guy needs to write a book and 2) we need to be friends. While Caleb and I have yet to meet in person, we did become internet friends and so it was especially thrilling to finally read his book. I commend it to you.“Changing the world sometimes involves massive movements, but mostly it can be accomplished through small acts of presence, listening, and kindness.” p. 52 Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy from HarperOne.

Nicole

February 15, 2021

This was a really interesting book about Caleb's experiences of being a funeral director. The experiences and views about death are really interesting and eye opening. I definitely learnt quite a bit I didn't know about what funeral directors from this book. This book does focus heavily on religion. There are quite a lot of negative reviews of this book which are very disrespectful. Even though, I'm not religious I could still appreciate and respect his views and his unique view points of death, even though I don't agree with everything he says. Overall, I think this book was very interesting and a learnt a lot TW: graphic descriptions of death, child death, miscarriage, infertility and overdose references

Murilo

June 26, 2020

Greek: Kronos and KairosHebrew: Tikkun olamSympathy: you see someone stranded in a disgusting well and feel the urge to help. Empathy: you are on the well with that person.1. Death negative narrative: let death show you the goodness in life. 2. Death cannot be tamed: can break us open or apart. Choose to let it break you open.3. Death cannot be ignored: allow death to make you pause, reflect and meditate. 4. Afterlife: focusing on the good of the afterlife makes us ignore the good of life. 5. Death’s voice is silence: the more we can embrace, the more we can embrace death. 6. Death positive narrative: allows us to embrace our mortality by letting us learn, grow and overcome.7. Commuity: death shows and strengthens us as a community/family. 8. Death is universal: lets us see and love others that we dislike. 9. There is no closure: invite the dead into our lives, they never really leave our hearts and lives. Practice active remembrance. 10. Embrace death: the key ingredient to a life well lived. The more we confront death, the more we can embrace life.

Karen

February 04, 2020

Wilde writes from the perspective of a funeral director in a small town in Pennsylvania. His father and grandfather are both in the business. And he knows almost every family that he serves when their loved one dies. Consequently, the stories have rich context.But his viewpoint has additional texture because he has an interest in religious studies and has done schooling in that area. His book is a mixture of anecdotes and philosophical / religious reflections on the way people respond to dying, death, and grief. His chapters are short and inviting. He maintained a blog prior to publishing this books, and I am assuming that some of the content was created in that venue and then refashioned for book form.

Alise

November 30, 2017

Can you write a life-giving book about death? Perhaps not all are able to, but in his first book, Calve Wilde, a funeral director out of Pennsylvania certainly does. Having experienced my own losses, I found that the way Caleb writes about death and dying to be a comfort. He shares why we need to bring death closer, rather than pushing it away. To touch it, talk about it, learn to love it. This is a beautiful book, and one that is desperately needed.

Mel

February 25, 2018

Well, My goal was to finish this book this weekend and I just got it done under the wire - 4 minutes to spare!This book has amazing & profound insights & observations of life and death and our humanity. The author can’t help but take a spiritual journey given the topic. He also addresses the positive death narrative we need to take over America’s traditional negative narrative! If you’re human, you need to read this book!

Tiffany

September 27, 2018

Wilde has blogged for quite some time and as a reader of his blog I was thrilled to read his book. Wilde shares some insight into his family run funeral home (wish there were more of these still around) but most of the book is his own views on death and how that view has changed while working in the industry. Wilde promotes letting death break you open rather than breaking you and learning to view death as a part of life for everyone. Worth a read."I should say they overlook Good Friday and Holy Saturday because they know what happens on Easter. But skipping ahead to Easter might be what makes so many believers so unfamiliar with the pain, silence, and doubt of death. If there’s one reason why believers use comfort clichés—like “You’ll see him again someday,” “She’s in a better place,” “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle,” “Heaven will wipe away all your tears”—it’s because they’ve only read the resurrection chapter of the story, and they’ve used that chapter as a shield against the darkness of death and anxiety.""In their book, A General Theory of Love, Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, and Richard Lannon write: “In a relationship, one mind revises the other; one heart changes its partner. . . . Who we are and who we become depends, in part, on whom we love.”"

Kelli

October 09, 2022

Death is dark, but it's also light, and between that contrast I saw a death positive narrative begin to appear. The dark and light can produce a rainbow of color that exists in a spectrum of hues, shades, tints, and values. Its beauty is firmly planted in the storm, but we've become color-blind. And I tremble to say there's good in death, that there's a death positive narrative, because I've looked in the eyes of a grieving mother and I've seen the heartbreak of the stricken widow, but I've also seen something more in death, something good. Death's hands aren't all bony and cold. I had not heard of Caleb Wilde prior to this book. I was drawn to the title and went into it with few expectations. Interested in reading about another’s experience, as I am, too, from a family in the funeral business. My family lived in our funeral home throughout my childhood. I have shared experiences and expectations. We are also a multigenerational funeral business family. There are many aspects of this book which I can easily relate.Already knowing the technical aspects of body retrieval and the nuances involved in preparing the body, I was interested in his deep dive into his thoughts, and very real rationalizations, he goes through day by day. This is brutally honest and personal to his thinking. I disagree with the reviewers who are affronted to his talk of religion and God. This is a person who deals with death on a daily bases, but lives a very human life, with the problems inherent. It is a reality that most do not think about, on a personal level, except an handful of times in their life. Just because it may not follow your expectations, is not the fault of the book. This is one man’s experience, and his beliefs. It’s odd to me how much this bothers atheists and agnostics. I’ve heard it said that there are no atheist “in a foxhole”. Well, this book is basically written, from the foxhole. If it is his religion that bothers others that think differently than Wilde, it is a shame. If you only read books written by those who think like you, how are you ever able to defend your beliefs, or even question them? It is a very unexamined life, and you shouldn’t take the book as a personal affront. It is not about you.The funeral business life is not an easy one. Wilde is able to write his story with honesty and candor. Anyone can pick up a book on the technical aspects of one that leans into the humorous aspects of the business. I, too, have read some of those and enjoyed how they are able to explore such material in that way. There are times that Wilde does that, as well. Only, there are several sides to every story. This is his story and how he can live with the many emotions dealt with in the business of death. Not many can know how it is to live on the front lines of death, every day, day in and day out. This author leans into a higher power. I commend him for exploring and telling us how he rationalizes this life. I read the audio version. Well done. Recommend ✔️

Nabilah

January 18, 2021

Okay i understand why non religious folks would be turned off by this memoir but to me, a practicing Muslim, this is just fine because after all I believe there's afterlife after death. His way of looking at death and life is very Christian but it is still interesting to me that he is very candid about his spiritual struggles because he is after all, still an American living in death fearing, death apprehensive society. I appreciated that aspect of this memoir.

Lissa

May 26, 2020

I haven’t spent much time thinking about death as being anything but sad and negative, but this book really broadened my perspective. I found the writing a little awkward but appreciated the insight of one whose livelihood is the business of death.

Bridgett

April 07, 2021

I honestly love this book. It gives a great perspective and is sad and funny all in one. It really does give life to what the funeral industry is about. I wish it might be a bit longer and maybe more involved with it but it's an easy read.

Frequently asked questions

Listening to audiobooks not only easy, it is also very convenient. You can listen to audiobooks on almost every device. From your laptop to your smart phone or even a smart speaker like Apple HomePod or even Alexa. Here’s how you can get started listening to audiobooks.

  • 1. Download your favorite audiobook app such as Speechify.
  • 2. Sign up for an account.
  • 3. Browse the library for the best audiobooks and select the first one for free
  • 4. Download the audiobook file to your device
  • 5. Open the Speechify audiobook app and select the audiobook you want to listen to.
  • 6. Adjust the playback speed and other settings to your preference.
  • 7. Press play and enjoy!

While you can listen to the bestsellers on almost any device, and preferences may vary, generally smart phones are offer the most convenience factor. You could be working out, grocery shopping, or even watching your dog in the dog park on a Saturday morning.
However, most audiobook apps work across multiple devices so you can pick up that riveting new Stephen King book you started at the dog park, back on your laptop when you get back home.

Speechify is one of the best apps for audiobooks. The pricing structure is the most competitive in the market and the app is easy to use. It features the best sellers and award winning authors. Listen to your favorite books or discover new ones and listen to real voice actors read to you. Getting started is easy, the first book is free.

Research showcasing the brain health benefits of reading on a regular basis is wide-ranging and undeniable. However, research comparing the benefits of reading vs listening is much more sparse. According to professor of psychology and author Dr. Kristen Willeumier, though, there is good reason to believe that the reading experience provided by audiobooks offers many of the same brain benefits as reading a physical book.

Audiobooks are recordings of books that are read aloud by a professional voice actor. The recordings are typically available for purchase and download in digital formats such as MP3, WMA, or AAC. They can also be streamed from online services like Speechify, Audible, AppleBooks, or Spotify.
You simply download the app onto your smart phone, create your account, and in Speechify, you can choose your first book, from our vast library of best-sellers and classics, to read for free.

Audiobooks, like real books can add up over time. Here’s where you can listen to audiobooks for free. Speechify let’s you read your first best seller for free. Apart from that, we have a vast selection of free audiobooks that you can enjoy. Get the same rich experience no matter if the book was free or not.

It depends. Yes, there are free audiobooks and paid audiobooks. Speechify offers a blend of both!

It varies. The easiest way depends on a few things. The app and service you use, which device, and platform. Speechify is the easiest way to listen to audiobooks. Downloading the app is quick. It is not a large app and does not eat up space on your iPhone or Android device.
Listening to audiobooks on your smart phone, with Speechify, is the easiest way to listen to audiobooks.

footer-waves