When a severely deformed corpse lands on his embalming table, skilled mortician, Horace Carver is forced to confront his apathy towards life and the dark secrets hidden within himself, his family, and his hometown of Always, Indiana.
This stylized novel uses mythology as a base for a narrative that examines the nature of life by exploring the ways we die.
Ernest Gordon Taulbee grew up in a small town in Eastern Kentucky called Salyersville. He received both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree from Eastern Kentucky University. Upon completing his MA he moved to Louisville -- where he has lived most of his adult life.
Love of reading and writing has been a theme in his life. Through the decade and a half since he finished his MA, Mr. Taulbee has worked a variety of jobs, from populating a cubicle in a large corporation to making and selling mead. Throughout his whole life, writing has remained his singular professional and artistic passion.
Writing this book meant doing a great deal of research about death and dying. Since Horace is an embalmer and undertaker, I had to extensive research on the embalming process. This is Horace continuing to meticulously ply his trade.
Book Excerpt
A Sibling in Always
The next step is to turn on the embalming machine and distribute the fluid. As the embalming fluid is entering the body, wash the body again with a good antibacterial soap, checking for drainage while massaging the limbs. This will help push blood out and allow embalming fluid to enter. Next, slowly decrease the pressure, as the remainder approaches twenty percent of the solution. Turn off the machine and reverse the cannula to the other side of the artery chosen as the injection point.
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