Overview

‘Sharp, angry, punchily philosophical and often funny. It basically invents a new type of lifestyle aspiration: deathstyle.’ The Times ‘Callender’s joyous, thought-provoking book is an account of how his own early encounters with bereavement led to him becoming a new kind of undertaker.’ Daily Mail ‘This book is a great work of craft and beauty.’ Salena Godden ‘I loved What Remains? Funny, demystifying, but mostly, deeply moving.’ Kathy Burke, Actor and Director ‘This compelling personal story of a pioneering punk undertaker is a moving revelation.’ Love Reading ‘Inspiring and unforgettable.’ John Higgs, author of William Blake vs the World Death has shown me . . . the unbreakable core of love and courage that lies at the heart of what it means to be human. Ru Callender wanted to become an undertaker in order to offer people a more honest experience than the stilted formality of traditional ‘Victorian’ funerals. Driven by raw emotion and the unresolved grief of losing his own parents, Ru brought an outsider, ‘DIY’ ethos to the business of death, combined with the kinship and inspiration he found in rave culture, social outlaws and political nonconformists. Ru has carried coffins across windswept beaches, sat in pubs with caskets on beer-stained tables, helped children fire flaming arrows into their father’s funeral pyre, turned modern occult rituals into performance art and, with the band members of the KLF, is building the People’s Pyramid of bony bricks in Liverpool – all in the name of creating truly authentic experiences that celebrate those who are no longer here and those who remain. Radical, poignant, unflinchingly real and laugh-aloud funny, What Remains? will change the way you think about life, death and the human experience.

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9781645020509

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Reviews

'This book is great work of craft and beauty, truth and humanity, heart and soul. I believe it could be used as a teaching tool and as a comfort. I find Callender's approach to this huge subject deeply loving and moving, but also revolutionary in spirit and courageous.' Salena Godden, author of Mrs Death Misses Death 'This moving, angry and funny book isn't just about an odd career ushering people off to join the Silent Majority, but a beautiful guide to how to live, grieve and remember well.' Luke Turner, author of Out of the Woods; co-founder, The Quietus 'A remarkable book. One of the most important books of our age. It had me laughing and crying by turns, sometimes both at the same time, and each page brought a new revelation, a new insight, a new understanding of what it means to be human in this beautiful world, in this strange moment we are passing through. 'It's a book destined to join the greats of counterculture nonfiction, like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Cosmic Trigger and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.' CJ Stone, author of Fierce Dancing 'What Remains? is a profound and vital book that reads less like a memoir and more like a confession. As honest, terrifying and truthful as a mirror at midday, it embraces life and death equally and is too compassionate to flinch. Inspiring and unforgettable.' John Higgs, author of William Blake vs the World 'Rupert Callender's compelling personal story brings us face to face with what he describes as the sharp edge, where life cuts into death : a place our society keeps discreetly under wraps, but which we will all visit sooner or later. An exquisitely sensitive, eloquent and courageous guide to its mysteries and terrors, its ordinariness and its humanity.' Mike Jay, writer and cultural historian 'If there is one book you should read when death comes knocking or you get the sudden urge to build a crop circle in the middle of the night, then this is that book. 'I was lucky...lucky because when my kid brother died suddenly and shockingly, The Green Funeral Company were the local undertakers in his hometown; they even knew him. 'They took me to their forest HQ at Dartington Hall, where Simon was laid out on a funeral bier in their chapel of rest like some medieval king. 'Later, in the front office by the fire, we talked about building pyres and pyramids in a forest clearing. 'In the end, Simon's funeral was simple, and better for it. 'From crop circles to the Gates of Hell and back again, Ru's book will be your guide.' Jimmy Cauty, The JAM's, K2 Plant Hire 'A truly extraordinary book. It is like nothing else I've ever read, or thought I needed. Heartful of the ferocious, transcendent power of love and wonder; it is deeply profound, funny, and wholly and radically moving. What Remains? reveals life in the presence of death, as alchemy; as glorious and thoughtful ritual. Bright and dark and glittering as a funeral pyre, its embers are lasting, life-affirming, life-changing, death facing and unflinching.' Nicola Chester, Wainwright-longlisted author of On Gallows Down 'It's extraordinary. You'll laugh, you'll cry, your heart will break, your heart will shine, filled with love. You'll be changed. An instant classic.' Rob Hopkins, author of From What Is to What If 'A fascinating insight into Life's oldest ritual. Dead interesting.' Ronan Hession, author of Leonard and Hungry Paul 'Rupert Callender takes us to the dark end of the street, but he does so with wit, beauty and no little experience. It's a one-of-a-kind ride, filled with storytelling. This original and gutsy book will do a lot of good in the world.' Martin Shaw, author of Smoke Hole 'Vulnerable, raw and moving, this is a book for anyone who strives to die, and live, in an emotionally authentic and honest way. Essential reading. Beautifully written.' Louise Winter, progressive funeral director, coauthor of We All Know How This Ends

Author Information

Rupert Callender was moved to become an undertaker through his experience of bereavement and its aftermath. He spent much of his childhood in the hospice where his mother worked, and the caring, humanistic philosophy of the hospice movement is central to his work. He opened the Green Funeral Company with Claire in 2000, and the company is now among the country’s best-known eco-friendly funeral directors. In 2012, they won Joint Best Funeral Director at the first Good Funeral Awards and were described as ‘The best undertakers of all time, by a country mile’ by Good Funeral Guide author Charles Cowling. In 2021, Claire left the company. Rupert continues arranging funerals with a new colleague. Callender, Phillips, Cauty & Drummond, Undertakers to the Underworld was established as a partnership between the Green Funeral Company and The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (KLF) in 2017.

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