Ferryman: The Life and Deathwork of Ephraim Finch
Ferryman: The Life and Deathwork of Ephraim Finch is a deeply moving portrait of a man who transformed the way we understand death, grief, and ritual in modern Australia. Blending biography, memoir and cultural history, Katia Ariel traces the life of Ephraim Finch OAM—from his working-class Sydney beginnings and conversion to Orthodox Judaism, to his decades-long role as director of Melbourne’s Jewish Burial Society. Through intimate interviews, handwritten journals, and archival records, Finch’s voice emerges with clarity and warmth, offering a rare view into the role of a deathworker who served both religious and secular communities with unwavering compassion. In a time of increasing disconnection and cultural division, Ferryman reminds us of the healing power of presence, service and sacred tradition.
Author Katia Ariel is an acclaimed Melbourne-based writer, editor and educator. Born in Odesa, Ukraine, her memoir The Swift Dark Tide was shortlisted for the 2024 Stella Prize and won the 2024 Society of Women Writers NSW Non-fiction Prize. Her unique literary voice is on full display in Ferryman, a work described by bestselling author Hannah Kent as “beautifully written and deeply moving.” Raimond Gaita called it “a gift to anyone for whom it matters to honour their humanity,” and Chloe Hooper praised it as “a book full of wisdom by a writer of exquisite talent.” With grace and precision, Ariel weaves personal storytelling with deep historical insight to illuminate not just a remarkable life, but the universal questions of how we live—and how we die.
Ferryman: The Life and Deathwork of Ephraim Finch
by Katia Ariel
Trade Paperback | 9781925893861 | RRP $34.99
Out June from Wild Dingo Press
Win: For your chance to receive 1 of 10 advance reading copies of Ferryman: The Life and Deathwork of Ephraim Finch, please email rachael@wilddingopress.com.au. Don’t forget to include your postal address.
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