What do you think happens to us after we die? Not our essences, our inner beings, our souls — whichever term you prefer — but our bodies. Who takes care of us, from the time we are found to the time we are laid in the ground? The people who tend to our bereavements, our burials, and our bodies do work that is largely invisible, allowing the rest of us to maintain our distance from a painful and difficult concept.

"But the bodies have to go somewhere," writes journalist Hayley Campbell, in her new book, "All the Living and the Dead." Each chapter focuses on a different person who works closely with the bodies of those who have died. We speak with her about what we might learn from confronting the physical realities of death with an open mind.