'It's mindboggling to others, but it's my true calling': The secret life of a funeral embalmer

Laura Eaves always knew she wanted to work with the dead. She set her sights on becoming a funeral embalmer when she finished school - but was warned the job was “too dark” for a young woman.

Advised against the unique career by family and friends, the now 43-year-old opted for a job teaching English in Shanghai. Despite only planning to stay in the city a year, she found herself living in China for more than a decade.

But everything changed when her grandmother died on her wedding day - with the tragedy making Laura realise teaching was not the right path for her. “As an English teacher, there was only so far my career could go, and soon enough I’d reached the glass ceiling,” she said.

READ MORE: Baby left with painful rash 'all over him' when mum's luggage was lost for NINE days after nightmare flight to Spain

“The funeral directors at the time were fantastic in speeding up the process of organising the funeral so my husband and I could attend and bid our farewell before flying back to China as a newly-wed couple.

“Their professionalism meant so much to me, I knew I had to change my career and follow my dream. Sure, teaching English was helpful and fulfilling, but nothing could match the satisfaction of helping others during the worst days of their lives.”

Motivated by her reignited passion for funeralcare, Laura, from Chorley, quit her job and began studying an online course with the National Association of Funeral Directors for a year before applying for a role in Shanghai.

Sadly, her attempts at making it in the funeralcare industry in China didn’t pan out. On her return to the UK, she finally fulfilled her dream of gaining her embalming qualifications, now working as an embalmer at the Co-op Funeralcare branch in