Discover the world’s most fascinating death and funeral traditions in this illustrated modern-day memento mori.

Embark on a whirlwind tour of burial, preservation, and memorial practices and landmarks from across the globe and throughout history, ranging from the customs of our ancestors to contemporary practices. In these vibrantly illustrated pages, you can explore how humans from time immemorial have honored and remembered the dead, including:

• Mummification in ancient Egypt
• Post-mortem photography in Victorian England
• Open-pyre cremations in India
• Ghana’s fantasy coffins
• The Japanese ritual of kotsuage (“the gathering of the bones”)
• And much more

Author-illustrator YY Liak tackles the thorny theme of death with a deep compassion for the universal experiences of loss and grief and an intrepid interest in the unique mortuary practices that have arisen across continents, cultures, and millennia. Her colorful, modern illustrations bring to life a whole spectrum of human beliefs about death and dying.

"An endearing and lighthearted look at the fate that awaits us all." — Kirkus Reviews

YY Liak is a Chinese-Singaporean illustrator and writer currently based in Jersey City, New Jersey. The daughter of two medical professionals, she grew up with a very frank understanding of death and an insatiable appetite for all things anthropological, mythological, and historical.