When I opened this book I was not sure what I would find inside. By turns illuminating, emotional, and darkly humorous, Good Mourning is a lesson in how the human heart grieves and grows-whether you’re wearing this season’s couture or drug-store flip-flops. Meyer has seen it all: two women who found out their deceased husband (yes, singular) was living a double life, a famous corpse with a missing brain, and funerals that cost more than most weddings. Starting as a receptionist, Meyer quickly found she had a knack for helping people cope with their grief, as well as creating fitting send-offs for some of the city’s most high-powered residents.

Good Mourning offers a behind-the-scenes look at a legendary funeral chapel on New York City’s Upper East Side-mixing big money, society drama, and the universal experience of grieving-told from the unique perspective of a fashionista turned funeral planner.Įlizabeth Meyer stumbled upon a career in the midst of planning her own father’s funeral, which she turned into an upbeat party with Rolling Stones music, thousands of dollars worth of her mother’s favorite flowers, and a personalized eulogy. Elizabeth Meyer’s “sweet, touching, and funny” ( Booklist) memoir reads as if “Carrie Bradshaw worked in a funeral home a la Six Feet Under” ( Publishers Weekly, starred review).

The Green Reaper by Elizabeth Fournier