Grave Undertakings: Mortician By Day, Model By Night - One Woman's True-Life Adventures is the engaging story of Alexandra K. Mosca, America's first and only funeral director/model who has also posed for Playboy magazine! Offering a unique perspective into the mortician's trade (a male dominated profession with only 13 percent women morticians), Grave Undertakings is alternately humorous, sensual, revealing, dramatic, and at times heartbreaking. An absorbing and revealing tell-all, Grave Undertakings is an unusual, exceptionally well written, and highly recommended autobiography.

This book makes one glad that there are strong, independent-thinking women in the funeral industry who aren't afraid to care about the people they serve and the people they work with. Alexandra's all the more credible for showing the down-side as well as the up-side of her work. This is a lady I want to meet someday.

REVIEWS:

Grave Undertakings:

"Mortician by Day, Model by Night-One Woman's True Life Adventures"

Alexandra Kathryn Mosca, New Horizon Press

Far Hills, New Jersey, 295 ppg, ...

A Review by Mac Mc McCormick

"Grave Undertakings" might suggest a "Tell-All" offering of scintillating, bizarre or macabre tales. Instead, readers who complete the book will find Alexandra Mosca to be a talented, sensitive and seasoned writer who has the ability to evoke emotion from the most hardened of souls. Mosca, a licensed and practicing funeral director, gives us a mesmerizing glimpse into the inimitable world of funeral service in New York City. The early portions of her spellbinding autobiography include admirable insights into the hardships and indignities she endured some years ago as a female apprentice and young funeral director. Mosca clearly understands how difficult it truly is for an "outsider"- someone who doesn't originate in a wealthy funeral service family- to enter and survive in the funeral service profession. She decidedly has a flair for describing her years of difficulty and adversity. Blended with her extraordinary adventures as a Playboy model, the second half of Alexandra Mosca's tale clearly uses striking philosophy and allegory as she describes how she matures into a caring, thoughtful and professional funeral director.

Final analysis: This is a "must read" for anyone interested in, or currently working within the funeral service or allied professions. Do not dismiss this fine effort because some of the truths about greed and malice in funeral service surface in its pages. Mosca realizes, as many of us do, that serving as a funeral director is a true gift. "Grave Undertakings" shows us all that Alexandra Kathryn Mosca was blessed with other gifts. She has the ability to be a stunning model who is inherently more attractive inwardly. Mosca also displays a tremendous talent to describe her life experiences in a book that you absolutely will not be able to stop reading once you begin. An "A plus" effort by the Gotham City funeral director...

I can tell you honestly that every recipe in this cookbook is perfect- my mom wrote it and I ate every version of every recipe until they were each a symphony for the taste buds. I grew up on these foods- eat recipe elegant and brilliant. I dream about the Chinese Chicken salad, the Chesnut stuffing, the Turkey and Melon salad, Macadamia Nut Pancakes with macadamia syrup, and Strawberry Shortcake. She has developed the perfect, flaky pie crust. Every group that calls America it's home has a section in the cookbook. It is a wonderful collection of my mother's best recipes- believe me, I know!

I own two copies- one on the shelf- and the other for the kitchen with most of the pages stuck together (worn from use!). The copy on the shelf is for emergencies when I can't read words from food marks on the used and abused book. I have grand dinner parties with courses and always send my guests home full thanks to this book.

This is the most used book on my shelf (not that it ever touches the shelf). I thought that I knew American food- until I read this book. It opened a whole new world to me! The Honey Roasted Squash Soup is amazing! The most devine Pecan Pie ever! Almost everything you need to know to make gourmet food- in one book! Perfect.

This is the most complete book on Valentines Day I have seen. Filled with interesting facts, over 200 (not 20) vintage Valentines, the history of Valentines Day, fun crafts for kids, recipes andmore. A must have book. AAAA+++++++

Greetings With Love: The Book Of Valentines will hold year-round attraction for any interested in greeting card art, collectability, or history. The focus here is on antique valentines, with chapters surveying the earliest valentine in history to modern times. Over 20 vintage valentines from mechanical cupids to lace productions are detailed in a history which traces the changing trends of the day. Beautiful color photos of antique productions make for a bright, highly recommended coverage.

If you love Valentines you need this book! It's the best!

I loved to read this book as a child and remember giggling at the drawings. Now my son and daughter (two-year old twins) have as much fun with the rhymes and pictures, and it is their most-requested bedtime story.

My 14-month old son really likes this book. It so happens that it was my favorite when I was a toddler. I've not been able to obtain a new printing, so we're actually reading my original printing copy to him!

My mother, who is now deceased, used to read to me when I was a little girl, and my most requested book was The Grown Up Day. I felt I could identify with the children portrayed in the story because I always loved to play house with my dolls. I highly recommend this book to anybody who has fond memories of playing at being grown up when they were a child.

Thank you Nigel Foster for such a complete and wonderful guide! I have been to a few areas in Florida, and can not wait to go this February and "try" out a few more of the recommended trips. A friend and I are going to go to Ding Darling Refuge and the Black Island (Lover's Key) trip at the very least. The trip descriptions have me longing for my vacation to get here. Very good maps, and I appreciate the section on places to stay and camp!

Very good advice in the Keys section. Did several of the trips recently. Always "as advertised" in the book.
Worth the $$$.

Nigel Foster has finally turned his excellent writing skills to South Florida. Having kayaked in South Florida for the past 6 years, I have personally done most of the trips described in the book. Mr. Foster's descriptions are brief, but his attention to detail, and excellent on-water guides make the book very useful. Short accounts of the history of some areas (i.e., "The Watson Mystery") enliven the book. It is written in the style of a travel guide - a bit unusual for a guide to kayak touring, but it lends itself to the area. His "Caution" tips, e.g., "Watch out for racoons at your picnic site." are well-chosen. Trip ratings are very reasoned and appropriate, e.g., "Paddling the outer coast is committing, with exposure to the Gulf...Waves across Whitewater Bay generally produce a short chop...No one lives in this area, and there's no way out of it except at the camping sites...." A concisely written book. Well done!

Being an experienced sea kayaker I often review books to evaluate the competence of the authors. This book is written by kayakers who really love the sport and want to share it but who have chosen not to guide new kayakers' every stroke. So many guide books do the entire trip for you leaving you with little to learn about your personal skill and no adventure whatsoever. They give you the basics and then leave it to you to discover yourself and adventure. Great guidebook!

Good directions to put-ins and landmarks visible on the water

We referred to this book time and time again and found accurate, precise information regarding Lake Michigan and Superior paddle trips. Guided us to many accesible sites that represents the true nature of both lakes, from sandy beaches to rocky shores. An accurate guidance of what skill level should attempt each trip. Great book to use as a guide to map a vacation. Also good information regarding restuarants and camping spots.

From a Mother of 3 daughters, I certainly would have found this book, "HAPPY THOUGHTS FOR BAD HAIR DAYS:" Encouragement for Teens, a real asset in their informative teen years. What's a Mother to do to answer some of their terrifying teen questions. Unfortunately, someone else's thought and ideas "sink in" more than a Mom's thoughts. With God on our side, all of our girls turned out AWESOME. They are all Godly Women. Their inside beauty is equal to their outside beauty. ANDREA, continue to bring God into the hearts of today's young gals through your encouragement of your books.

Any woman would love the advice of a former model, and this book is full of it! Andrea Stephens has an amazing way of teaching young women how to let their individual beauty shine, and "Happy Thoughts..." is a perfect example of that talent. I would highly recommend this book for any woman who desires to learn some practical ways to let her beauty unfold from within. Andrea combines practical tips for both inner and outer beauty, so this book is sure to help anyone beat a bad hair day--and more!

This book was really awesome! It was an easy read, and even at 36 it gave me great insights! I wish there had been such good christian writers for teens when I was young. We've all had "bad hair days" (on the outside as well as inwardly), and teen girls have a very real need to know there are people who haven't forgotten what it feels like to be where they are now. Andrea sure lets us all feel like she cares about our daily struggles, and I appreciate her for that! Good job, Andrea, I'll be looking forward to your next book!

The author loves to go barefoot and as the mother of four grown children, she has tied more shoes than she can count. She is the author of several picture books including The Seasons Sewn: A Year in patchwork, which won the Carl Sandburg Award for Children's Literature. Nadine illustrates with such flair and will make you smile...even though she would rather have all the shoes in this book and not go barefoot.

A little girl in pink pajamas awakens with the words: "Good morning, toes, Good morning, feet, tangled up between my sheets." She then puts on bunny slippers and bounces around to the closet door. The puppy dog in the story actually brings her the slippers.

The next page will make every little girl wish she had a closet filled with all these pretty shoes. Red high heels with bows, alligator sock shoes, fluffy orange slippers, boots and yellow sandals decorated with fruit. After clomping down the stairs in her polka dot red
high heels, she changes into something a bit more practical. Then the real fun starts.

She leaps and skips and goes down a slide, swings and points her toes up high, jumps across a creek and then heads home for lunch. While her baby brother naps, she walks quietly in her red boots and heads outside to shuffle along in leaves.

After taking off her shoes, she squishes her toes into muddy ooze and then dances in a puddle and cleans her feet off. She then takes a big bubble bath, dries her feet and snuggles between her sheets.

Completely Adorable and perfect for bedtime reading.

Really a delightful story that journals a day in life of a girl who from her feets' perspective. The illustrations are bright and interesting. My two year old just loves the book.

Really enjoy this book, especially for reading aloud to a group of children. I particularly like the rhyming and very "active" vocabulary. Colorful and charming pictures complement the text very well.

if you like jazz you must read this book...
it is just as wonderful as hearing Anita sing...
What a life, what a voice!

At 3 a.m. last night I finally read a last chapter,couldnt put it down before.Yes,Anita O'Day writting voice sounds very much like her singing self: ironic,witty,tough hip "swing chick" (her words) who didnt give a damn what others think.Her self-destructivness very much echoes another famous artist (in rock music) Marianne Faithfull,in fact this two women have much more in common than you think.Both survivors,both eventually come back and yes,both are still live preformers.Her opinion about other jazz singers are sometimes strange ("Like me,Ella never had a great voice"?) - but think that she was commercially oversahdowed by Fizgerald.As much as Anita's "Verve" albums are beautiful and timeless (I really think woman was a highest-class jazz improvisator,she grew up from Billie Holiday and made her own style) this book is sometimes painful to read.I believe there is a general curiousity about somebody's dirty linen,in this case it almost overshadow her art - at some points it reads like 50's detective story,with smokey jazz clubs,jazz musicians as a drug addicts and cops always around to "find" (read:set up) drugs in dressing room.With all beautiful music she made,its a pity that editor of the book find more interesting to emphasise her drug addiction,since her arrests,sanatoriums,jails and courts get more space than anything else.I dont think this was her intention,probably publisher wanted scandalous story,but if you dont know her music,this book can make you think that Anita O'Day was a famous junkie who had a music as a hobby.

Seems like a truly honest, candid account of the jazz life of a famous jazz singer, warts and all. Very touching in its candor in which the singer's habits brought down her considerable talents and what could have seemed like a glamorous life on the road really was far more debased than what one might imagine. Besides the sordid side, a lot of opinions about the jazz abilities of a lot of famed musicians of the forties and fifties; generally, a very honest, open and sometimes painful account of the jazz life of a great artist. I had the pleasure of meeting the aritst in person at a performance a few years ago, and she revealed that she had never read the final product herself. Highly worthwhile.