We are excited to introduce Ferryman: The Life and Deathwork of Ephraim Finch, an extraordinary narrative blending biography, memoir, and cultural history. Written with masterful prose, the book portrays Ephraim Finch OAM a deathworker, community builder, and living repository of Jewish cultural memory. Drawing on his handwritten journals and moving interviews, Katia Ariel explores themes of grief, memory, celebrating life, ritual, and faith all told with tenderness and wisdom.
Finch's journey from working-class Sydney, conversion to Orthodox Judaism and later, becoming the director of Melbourne's Jewish Burial Society (Chevra Kadisha), offers profound reflections on belonging, service, and the power of stories.
In his work over 34 years, Ephraim Finch provided unwavering support to bereaved families, including Holocaust survivors, and seamlessly navigated coroners, police, clergy, and medical professionals. In the process, he preserved sacred Jewish traditions whilst fostering understanding across religious and secular communities.
At a pivotal point in our history where cultural division and societal fractures threaten our sense of wellbeing and security, Ferryman is a story for our times one of connection, service, and the sacredness of life.
With a foreword by Arnold Zable and praise from Hannah Kent, Rai Gaita, Chloe Hooper, and Kylie Moore-Gilbert, amongst others, Ferryman is an essential addition to our cultural and literary landscape.
'Ferryman is a compassionate portrait of a man who has spent a lifetime in service of his community. Katia Ariel's consideration of belonging, faith, and the way we are all inextricably woven into tapestries of time, place and history both before and after death is beautifully written and deeply moving.' Hannah Kent
'A book full of wisdom by a writer of exquisite talent.' Chloe Hooper
About the Author :
Katia Ariel is an award-winning author, book editor and educator from Melbourne/Naarm. She was born in Odesa, Ukraine. Her memoir, The Swift Dark Tide, was shortlisted for the 2024 Stella Prize and was the winner of the 2024 Society of Women Writers NSW Non-fiction Prize. Katia has been published in a variety of literary journals, including Womankind, Archer and Antithesis. She was the recipient of the Varuna Residential Fellowship (in 2022) and Bundanon Writing Residence (in 2024). Ferryman: The Life and Deathwork of Ephraim Finch is her second book
