Here Lies Linc

Last Words

During my research for Here Lies Linc, I explored dozens of cemeteries and became fascinated with the wide variety of inscriptions or epitaphs etched on the tombstones. The words people choose to place on their own headstones or to memorialize their loved ones range from sad and touching . . . to funny . . . to downright bizarre!

As I came across more and more examples of interesting epitaphs, I began keeping a record of my favorites and trying to figure out a way to feature them in my novel. I decided that my main character Lincoln Crenshaw would keep his own epitaph journal as a way to entertain himself whenever his mother drags him along on her cemetery research trips.

Each chapter in the book opens with an inscription from Linc’s journal. I was determined that all of the epitaphs I included would be real—excerpted from actual headstones scattered throughout the United States and beyond. That meant I had to find 38 worthy epitaphs for 38 chapters. Check out three of the winners from my tombstone treasure hunt!