‘You’re honoring a life well-lived’: embalmers describe their work (in great detail)

Embalming is one of the most common options for temporarily preserving bodies after death – but what exactly does it entail?

Most people don’t like to think about what happens to people’s bodies after they die. Victoria Bilstein is an exception.

“I’ve actually wanted to be an embalmer since I was 10 years old!” says the funeral director, embalmer and author based in the midwest. As a child, Bilstein had two leg surgeries that incorporated bones from two deceased donors. After that, she wondered about the people who had helped save her life and the families who had lost them.