I’m a sucker for cemeteries. They’re so peaceful. I love to just wander through them, enjoy the solitude, look at the epitaphs, and think about the lives they’re trying to sum up in just a few words.
So when I heard about a recent book about cemeteries written by Webster resident Jane Hopkins, I sat up and took notice. Then I started reading it, and realized that Hopkins and I are of the same mind when it comes to the power of cemeteries to touch us deeply.
The book is titled Cemetery Reflections, and it was sparked in part by a single, simple headstone. Hopkins was taking a walk in a historic cemetery in Canada a few years ago and came across the grave of a young child. The epitaph read, “Step Softly, Here lies a dream.” A much larger monument which stood nearby detailed the death of four children three weeks apart, and their father several months later. Hopkins writes in her book, “I thought about the dreams of these parents for their children, and the harsh reality that comes to many of us who experience an early death in the family.”
As Hopkins continued to wander the cemetery, she contemplated the deep grief expressed in the words on the child’s headstone. It compelled her to explore more cemeteries, perhaps, she wrote, “looking for a workable philosophy of loss and afterlife ─ including my own death ─ and how to make it easier for those left behind.”
The result of those wanderings is the new 206-page book, Cemetery Reflections, a visual journey through notable cemeteries, illustrated by stunning black and white and color photos. Historic poetry and beautiful prose accompany the photos, giving the book a free-flowing feel similar to what one would experience on a cemetery walk.
You can meet Hopkins yourself and learn more about her book at a talk she’ll hold on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. in the Gleason Auditorium at the Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County, 115 South Ave., Rochester. The talk is free and open to the public.
Copies of Cemetery Reflections are available for $44.95 at Amazon.com.
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(posted 9/25/2022)
webster on the web 
‘Stop traveler, as you pass by
As you are now, so once was I
As I am now, soon you must be
Prepare yourself to follow me.’
Indeed.
I love this.