"In a surprisingly upbeat, heartfelt book about a serious subject, The Wall Street Journal's veteran obituary writer, award-winning journalist James R. Hagerty, shares his unique skills with those who want to have the last word with flourish, honesty, and even humor. Whether in-brief for future newspapers and websites, or as a more complete mini-memoir for friends and family, Yours Truly is a guide to making sure your story is told the way you want--and...

"Obituaries are history as it is happening. Whose time am I living in? Was he a success or a failure, lucky or doomed, older than I am or younger? Did she know how to live? Where else can you celebrate the life of the pharmacist who moonlighted as a spy, the genius behind Sea Monkeys, the school lunch lady who spent her evenings as a ballroom hostess? No wonder so many readers skip the news and the sports and go directly to the obituary page. This...

"I have held you at night for ten years and I didn't even know your name. We have a child together. A dog, a house. Who are you? Emma loves her husband Leo and their young daughter Ruby: she'd do anything for them. But almost everything she's told them about herself is a lie. And she might just have got away with it, if it weren't for her husband's job. Leo is an obituary writer; Emma a well-known marine biologist. When she suffers a serious illness,...

Mo Rocca has always loved obituaries, reading about the remarkable lives of world leaders, captains of industry, innovators, and artists. But not every notable life has gotten the send-off it deserves. The journalist, humorist, and history buff is righting that wrong, profiling the people who have long fascinated him, from the greatest entertainer to sitcom characters that went all too soon, to a shamefully forgotten Founding Father. Rocca chronicles...

It's a shame no one wants to talk to them at parties, because obituary writers are a surprisingly funny bunch. Ten hours before newspapers hit neighborhood doorsteps—and these days, ten minutes before news hits the web—an obit writer is racing against deadline to sum up a long and newsworthy life in under 1000 words. The details of these lives are then deposited into the cultural memory amid the daily beat of war, politics, and football scores....