Memento Mori: The Art of
Contemplating Death to Live a Better Life
CLASS
More on an associated class taught for Morbid Anatomy here.
ABOUT
There could be no better guide than Joanna Ebenstein to the enriching and startlingly uplifting benefits of confronting our mortality. This wonderfully readable, witty, practical yet philosophically profound book has the power to shift your perspective and lead you into a more intense experience of life."
— Oliver Burkeman, New York Times bestselling author of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
A thoughtful, erudite survey through history and across cultures for all of us who wonder about death in order to lead more meaningful lives.
— Steve Leder, New York Times bestselling author of The Beauty of What Remains and For You When I Am Gone
Joanna Ebenstein has succeeded in making death fascinating, transformative, and even friendly, in this poetic and engaging book. This book made me laugh, brought me to tears, intrigued me, instructed me, and delivered on its promise to make me reflect on what mattered most—it enhanced my life. It initiates an appreciation of what is most important amid the busyness of our daily lives. Ebenstein has written the modern book of the dead, a guidebook about death, but significantly, about life and how to achieve a life well lived.
— Diana Walsh Pasulka, Professor of Religious Studies, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, author of American Cosmic: Religion, UFOs, and Technology
A step-by-step guide to accepting and embracing your mortality to live a more fulfilling life
In our modern culture, talking about death is often deemed morbid, or even taboo. But not long ago, contemplation of death was widely used as a powerful tool for countering fear, putting the difficulties of life in perspective, and helping you live according to your higher values. Now scientists, psychologists, and spiritual leaders agree - it’s key to living a life with meaning.
This life-changing book will lead you on a 12-week program to befriend death in your own way, creating your own personal, daily meditation on what it means to be mortal. Filled with lessons learned across cultures and with the help of insightful prompts and questions, Memento Mori will help you both come to terms with what death means and to live alongside it without fear. In doing so, you will see your own in a new light and discover what makes life worth living, swapping anxiety for joy. As our ancestors knew so well, there’s no better motivation to seize the day than a regular reminder that your days are numbered.
Follow Memento Mori on a journey of authentic self-discovery and transformation. Whether you're currently experiencing grief or loss, facing your own mortality, or simply seeking a deeper understanding of the profound mysteries of existence, this book offers invaluable insights to help you navigate your life with courage, resilience, and meaning.
Joanna Ebenstein is the founder and creative director of Morbid Anatomy. An internationally recognized death expert, she is the author of several books, including Anatomica: The Exquisite and Unsettling Art of Human Anatomy, Death: A Graveside Companion, and The Anatomical Venus. She is also an award-winning curator, photographer, and graphic designer, and the teacher of the many times sold-out class Make Your Own Memento Mori: Befriending Death with Art, History and the Imagination. The descendant of holocaust survivors, she traces her lineage back to Judah Loew ben Bezalel, credited with creating the Golem in sixteenth-century Prague.
Published by TarcherPerigee | 6 x 8 | Hardcover | $27.00 | 304 Pages