Laid To Rest

The Hopes, Haunts, and Humor from My Life Above a Funeral Home

Laid to Rest explores the behind the scenes of a family-run funeral home business in the mid 1900's on the South Side of Chicago from the perspective of a young girl, Sheila Lamb. Through this jaw-dropping, hilarious, and emotionally moving memoir, readers will learn about life and death through her personal and professional experiences as she rubbed shoulders with almost every culture, religion, and poltergeist. For an eye-opening look into the funeral industry accompanied with the variety of grieving processes, intertwined with having to navigate a normal childhood life where the Mafia helps you with your homework and the Great Dane chases the corpses, you will not want to pass on this book!

“Anyone who assumes the funeral business is grim and morose will learn otherwise in the pages of this lighthearted memoir, which chronicles Sheila’s years growing up on the top floor of a family-run funeral home. She also shares the valuable lessons she learned about life in a profession where death is never far away. I had a ball reading this fun, wise, and poignant book.”

—Richard Speer, Art critic, curator, and author of the biography Matt Lamb: The Art of Success (John Wiley & Sons)

“This book is about the most serious event in our lives, death; but is a rare and delicious view "behind the mysterious closed doors." You'll laugh, and yes maybe even cry. But you won't be able to stop reading.”

— Rev. Dr. Kevin M. Ulmet, Spring Hill, Tennessee

“Laid to Rest captures the essence of a historic profession in a hilarious and light-hearted manner. I couldn’t stop turning the pages. A must-read!”

— Jack Davenport, Owner Davenport Funeral Homes