Nicole Leung: Author of "Six Feet Under"
Author Nicole Leung paints a real and lurid picture of the mortuary business in her book, “Six Feet Under.” She talks to TC Fung.
HK Magazine: Do you have much background in the business of death?
Nicole Leung: You bet. I used to be a reporter covering paranormal topics for a local daily - haunted houses, ghost stories and UFOs. I ended up befriending a girl who is the proprietor of a family-run funeral home. Through her, I met many people working in the field, people often thought of as mysterious and secluded from the outside world. That’s how I got started on the book.
HK: But why such a macabre subject?
NL: Since I was a kid, I’ve been terrified of anything related to death – funerals, ghosts... But having covered such stories for the newspaper, I began to realize that funerals should not be a cause of fear because it is an inevitable end for every one of us. Covering the subject has really helped me. We just can’t live a meaningful life unless we know how to face death. So instead of stigmatizing the field and the people working in it, why not just present it as it is?
HK: Why do you think people are so scared of ghosts?
NL: Just because they are elusive. There’s no concrete evidence for or against their existence. I am still afraid of them but we can try to see it in a positive light. If you believe in reincarnation, ghosts also mean would-be human. Where there are ghosts, there is hope in the world.
HK: So you are no longer afraid of death?
NL: Death is still pretty spooky. You’d feel frightened if someone said, “You are going to die tomorrow.” I would rather believe that death is a second stage of life, not the end of it. If you think the otherworld exists, at least you still have a glimmer of hope that we don’t vanish into thin air after we die. What I try to get across in my book is that one should take a more open view on funerals and everything surrounding them. We Chinese tend to find the funeral parlor an ominous place to be avoided. But it should not be a taboo! Sometimes when I meet up with my friends working in funeral parlors, we have lunch over there. It’s just another place to us.
HK: Anything ghoulish in your book?
NL: No, it is more like a snapshot of people working for funeral homes. Several positions, like the embalmer, master of funeral ceremony and executive officer of the funeral house, are discussed – essentially their daily routines and feelings. What they do may sound spooky and bizarre, but really, they are just serving different “people.” For example, embalmers make corpses suitable for display at funerals - definitely not an easy task especially when you have to deal with someone who died in a traffic accident. Sometimes the family members may also ask embalmers to fine-tune the makeup of their deceased, as they say they “talked” to them the night before.
HK: Ever thought about your own funeral?
NL: Of course. I plan to adopt Taoist rites because it is peaceful, and I’ve told my family to make the hall as colorful as possible, and use a cool photo for me. And an ordinary coffer will be fine - no need to be fancy as long as it’s comfortable. I recommend that people choose their own casket before they die. At the end of the day, it’s like your bed.