Includes bibliographical references and index.

The lament: a tear jar in Iran -- Beautiful fire: a burst of flames in Bali -- Startling stillness: death on display in Sicily -- Inside the box:a fantasy coffin in Ghana -- Packing for eternity: gifts for the afterlife in Hong Kong -- Raising pigs: a get-together in the Philippines -- Foreign fields: far from home in Calcutta -- Dem bones: a chapel in the Czech Republic -- Hello again: on an altar in Oaxaca -- The final chapter: small packages, neatly tied.

"...Sarah Murray never gave much thought to what might ultimately happen to her remains--until her father died. Now, puzzled by the choices he made about the disposal of his "organic matter," she embarks on a series of voyages to discover how death is commemorated in different cultures. Death's Doors is Murray's exploration of the extraordinary creativity unleashed when we seek to dignify the dead. Along the way, she encounters a royal cremation in Bali, Mexico's Dia de los Muertos, a Czech chandelier made from human bones, a weeping ceremony in Iran, and a Philippine village where the casketed dead are left hanging in caves. She even goes to Ghana to commission a coffin for herself..."--Jacket.