{"product_id":"9781626743427","title":"Gone to the Grave: Burial Customs of the Arkansas Ozarks, 1850-1950","description":"\u003cp\u003eBefore there was a death care industry where professional funeral directors offered embalming and other services, residents of the Arkansas Ozarks--and, for that matter, people throughout the South--buried their own dead. Every part of the complicated, labor-intensive process was handled within the deceased's community. This process included preparation of the body for burial, making a wooden coffin, digging the grave, and overseeing the burial ceremony, as well as observing a wide variety of customs and superstitions. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese traditions, especially in rural communities, remained the norm up through the end of World War II, after which a variety of factors, primarily the loss of manpower and the rise of the funeral industry, brought about the end of most customs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eGone to the Grave\u003c\/i\u003e, a meticulous autopsy of this now vanished way of life and death, documents mourning and practical rituals through interviews, diaries and reminiscences, obituaries, and a wide variety of other sources. Abby Burnett covers attempts to stave off death; passings that, for various reasons, could not be mourned according to tradition; factors contributing to high maternal and infant mortality; and the ways in which loss was expressed though obituaries and epitaphs. A concluding chapter examines early undertaking practices and the many angles funeral industry professionals worked to convince the public of the need for their services.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University Press of Mississippi","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47134747754736,"sku":"9781626743427","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781626743427_p0.jpg?v=1763870352","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781626743427","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}