Lindsay Schraad Keeling

As the cliche goes, Lindsay has been writing her entire life. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Funeral Services in 2016 from the University of Central Oklahoma and was in the industry for about ten years. In her twenties, she created a website that featured articles written about homicide victims and missing persons with assistance and permission directly from their families. 

In 2020 – after moving across the country to Virginia – she co-authored the memoir Where the Trail Ends: The Kenny Suttner Story with her friend Angela Suttner. It won Honorable Mention in Writer’s Digest’s 30th Annual Self-Published Book Awards.

In September of 2021, Lindsay won a Curator’s Choice Award along with third place from Something or Other Publishing’s 1st Annual Short Story Contest her nonfiction piece, “Divorce in the Time of Social Media.”

In 2022, Lindsay graduated with her Master in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. While her thesis novel was shelved for a time period, she was intrigued with a new story idea about a clandestine relationship from a unique perspective in addition to the complexities and dangers of social media, which turned into The Funeral Director’s Wife through Conquest Publishing. All of the author’s proceeds from this novel are donated to Oklahoma Homicide Survivors Support Group, a nonprofit charity near to Lindsay’s heart.

In 2026, an anthology about death and grief curated by Lindsay Schraad Keeling and Brittany McMunn titled Tread Softly, Speak Gently will be released. 

Tread Lightly, Speak Softly

An Anthology about Dying, Death, and Grief

Coming Soon

A Letter to the Reader

First and foremost, if you are picking up this book, we assume you are grieving or death has touched you in some form or fashion. For that, we offer our condolences. We have put together this anthology to make you laugh, to make you cry, but most of all – to come together in unity in our grief and our thoughts about death. You are not alone.

These thirty-six writers have penned beautiful pieces. Some are heavier than others, while some are more uplifting and offer comedic relief. All are insightful in their own ways.

Please be advised, as content warnings go, that the stories and poems in this anthology are about grief of all kinds. You may want to skip over certain poems or short stories.  If you are experiencing the recent death of a loved one, reading this may be too soon (or, on the contrary, may be the perfect fit for you). Please use your best judgment.

We hope you find some solace in the solidarity that is the one thing we all have in common: death.

If you find yourself in crisis, please call or text 988 or call 911. There are also numerous groups on social media regarding grief in all forms in order to connect with one another, along with in-person peer groups that form such as widow/widowers’ groups at churches.

We hope you like our stories and poems.

From your anthologist and former funeral director,

Lindsay Schraad Keeling

Publication Team:

Anthologist: Lindsay Schraad Keeling
Lead Editor: Britany
Layout, Design, and Publishing: Abigail Wild

Authors and Poets:
Adele Liles
Amy Johnson
Annie Ucci
Arwyn Sherman
Berenice Jimenez
C.P. Bearden
Cendrine Marrouat
Dayna Brown Dolan
Demi Michelle Schwartz
Desirae Gracyn
Dr. Maggie Zingman
Erin Jo Eldry
Geneviève Laprise
Hadessah Ann Brice
Harper Kinsley
Jessica Minneci
J.K. Raymond
John A. McColley
Jordan Turbeville
Kelsey Arthur
Ken Doyle
Kendra Ann Keplinger
Kristen Argyres
Kylie Wiggins
Laura Jordan
Lianne Robinson
Louisa Reid
M. Laursyn
Mark Gade
Mickey Black
Nicole Smith
Rebecca Benison
Rebecca Linam
Sadie Lielle
Sarah Hart
Shelby Hill
Susannah White