The Undertaker's Wife

A True Story of Love, Loss, and Laughter in the Unlikeliest of Places

By: Dee Oliver, Jodie Berndt

Narrated by: Jill Blackwood

On Dee Branch’s first date with Johnnie Oliver, a fourth-generation funeral director, she knew she was in for a unique relationship when he had to leave “for just a minute”—and he came back to the car with a corpse.

Over twenty years later, Dee was still in love with her charming southern gentleman when he passed away suddenly in 2007. Determined to carry on Johnnie’s work, Dee earned her mortuary science degree, only to find herself no longer needed in the family business. So Dee crossed the racial divide in the most segregated industry in America and joined the staff of an African-American funeral home as a single white woman.

In The Undertaker’s Wife, Oliver draws from her wealth of experience to provide candid and often hysterically funny advice on dying well and surviving the loss of those who have gone before. Her insights on the common ground of grief, survival, and the ever-present faithfulness of God (to all of us, regardless of our race, religious upbringing, or socio-economic background) will help readers prepare for one of life’s only certainties—and do it with wisdom, grace, and a healthy dose of joy.

A life journey with humor about a subject we avoid

Funny and touching! This book is a true story about an amazing life journey. This book will make you laugh and cry. She falls in love with a funeral director, breaks the engagement and then eventually marries him. Her stories of working in a funeral home and behind the scenes situations are priceless!! This book is not only a book about the handling of the loss of a loved one, but about how our faith helps us get through difficult circumstances. This book inspires me to remember that God is in control and answers our prayers. The only thing we can be sure of in life; we're all going to die. I liked the tips she gives for those you leave behind. You will be surprised by the wisdom shared by the author, Dee Oliver.

Good perspective

Not in my normal genre, but we read this in a book club and I enjoyed it! Death is not something we typically want to think about, but I liked hearing her perspective and appreciated the wisdom at the end.