Death Down Under

Book excerpt: Death is one of the most challenging aspects of living, demanding inventive and meaningful responses. This insightful collection demonstrates cultural commitment to improving the conditions of the dying and dead and also documents the varied, creative ways that we, the living, already respond to death. Collectively, the 16 essays are an interrogation of the commonly held assumption that death is somehow hidden, denied, or done badly as standard practice. The underpinning themes and narratives in this anthology make a significant contribution to death studies debates and conversations by offering examples of post-colonial, multi-cultural practices that span professional and every-day points of intersection. Death studies can be a challenging and complex field; nevertheless each contributor here highlights specific ways in which assumptions and beliefs about contemporary death practices can be unpicked, nuanced and challenged.