Death's Garden Revisited: Personal Relationships with Cemeteries
by R.L. Merrill
Indie Published
September 15, 2023
Available in: e-Book
Death's Garden Revisited collects 40 powerful personal essays --- accompanied by full-color photographs --- to illuminate the reasons people visit cemeteries. Spanning the globe from Iceland to Argentina and from Portland to Prague, Death's Garden Revisited explores the complex web of relationships between the living and those who have passed before.
Genealogists and geocachers, travelers and tour guides, anthropologists, historians, pagan priestesses, and ghost hunters all venture into cemeteries in these essays. Along the way, they discover that cemeteries don't only provide a rewarding end to a pilgrimage, they can be the perfect location for a first date or a wedding, the highlight of a family vacation, a cure for depression, and the best possible place to grasp history. Not to mention that cemetery-grown fruit is the sweetest.
Award-winning author and Bay Area native R.L. "Ro" Merrill (she/her) is an advocate for social justice, a sucker for rescue pets, and a spinner of compelling stories. A veteran public school educator, parent of two brilliant young adults, and wife of a patient collector and fellow bookworm, she was raised on a steady diet of eclectic music and campy horror. She writes quirky and relatable queer and heterosexual characters that know how to use their words and are willing to work hard for their happily ever afters. Readers who dig swoony contemporary romance or shivery supernatural suspense will find themselves right at home in her extensive catalog. Her books contain killer soundtracks, generous amounts of spice, and enough laughs to get readers out of their heads and into their feels. When she's not writing, you can find her cruising in her Bronco, adding to her vinyl and skull collections, or head-banging at a rock show. Stay Tuned for More...