"A vibrant, heartfelt memoir about confronting mortality, surviving loss, finding resilience in one's Midwest roots and seeking a father's wisdom through an unusual woodworking project--constructing his own coffin"--Amazon.com.

When Giffels enlisted his dad to help him build his own casket, he thought of it mostly as an opportunity to sharpen his woodworking skills and to spend time together. But the unexpected deaths of his mother and a friend led to a harsh confrontation with mortality and loss. Over the course of several seasons, he returned to his father's barn in rural Ohio, to continue a pursuit that grew into a meditation on grief and optimism, a quest for enlightenment, and a way to cherish time with an aging parent. -- adapted from jacket.