Memento mori The art of contemplating death to live a better life

By confronting their mortality, readers can better appreciate their limited time on Earth, contends this enlightening outing from Ebenstein (Anatomica), founder of Morbid Anatomy, an organization that explores "death, life, and the in-between." Drawing on religious ritual, psychology, and an array of cultural traditions, she frames death as part of a cycle of rebirth reflected in everything from a butterfly's metamorphosis to Christian notions of the "dark night of the soul" preceding spiritual renewal. She also discusses the value of mourning loved ones via wakes and shivas. Such communal rituals anchor death as a meaningful part of being human, but their waning importance in a secular Western culture--where death is increasingly viewed as a "failure of intervention"--has driven increased anxiety about the end, according to Ebenstein. For the most part, she manages to allay those anxieties with perspective, compassion, and accessible guidance, though reader mileage may vary on such unorthodox exercises as making "something out of the hair of someone you love, dead or alive." The result is a revealing and wise glimpse into what might lie beyond. (Sept.)