After Morgan Moran quit her advertising job, death work seemed easy—but the only easy part about it was the preparation: gory Instagram accounts, murder movies, playing “carry the corpse” with friends.

With each new encounter—hearse rides, cremations, embalming—she’s surprised as her work with the dead becomes life-giving, and her glimpses of grief become revelations. What else is happening in the world that’s this special, she wonders, that we know nothing about? Continue reading

Dead bodies, decapitated heads, and the person that keeps them company.

In a sometimes wrenching, often irreverent collection of “death snacks,” debut author Morgan Moran captures her fascination with death and its inner workings in her book, Call Me Morgue.

The book is based on the author’s blog, which chronicles her journey into death work as a mortician’s apprentice after a 12-year career in advertising.

Call Me Morgue is the fifth title from The Teaching Press at UW-Green Bay. Continue reading