Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematorium
Apr 2015 · Canongate Books
4.7star
77 reviewsreport
Ebook
272
Pages
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About this ebook
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
'Unforgettable . . . a hilarious, poignant and impassioned plea to revolutionise our attitudes to death' Gavin Francis, Guardian
From her first day at Westwind Cremation & Burial, twenty-three-year-old Caitlin Doughty threw herself into her curious new profession. Coming face-to-face with the very thing we go to great lengths to avoid thinking about she started to wonder about the lives of those she cremated and the mourning families they left behind, and found herself confounded by people's erratic reactions to death. Exploring our death rituals - and those of other cultures - she pleads the case for healthier attitudes around death and dying. Full of bizarre encounters, gallows humour and vivid characters (both living and very dead), this illuminating account makes this otherwise terrifying subject inviting and fascinating.
'Unforgettable . . . a hilarious, poignant and impassioned plea to revolutionise our attitudes to death' Gavin Francis, Guardian
From her first day at Westwind Cremation & Burial, twenty-three-year-old Caitlin Doughty threw herself into her curious new profession. Coming face-to-face with the very thing we go to great lengths to avoid thinking about she started to wonder about the lives of those she cremated and the mourning families they left behind, and found herself confounded by people's erratic reactions to death. Exploring our death rituals - and those of other cultures - she pleads the case for healthier attitudes around death and dying. Full of bizarre encounters, gallows humour and vivid characters (both living and very dead), this illuminating account makes this otherwise terrifying subject inviting and fascinating.
Ratings and reviews
4.7
77 reviews
A Google user
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May 30, 2015
I really enjoyed this book and felt sad the journey ended. The thoughtfulness and personal ideas being shared was not only insightful but challenging. This book made me question the status quo and precipitated me to make my own decisions about how I want to be treated/handled after my death.
1 person found this review helpful
Elindor Elfvenstar
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February 16, 2020
Insightful and delightful. With a topic as polarizing as death, cremation and our views on them Caitlin approaches them with such dignity and reverence that you never forget these were people with lives, but that death does not have to be a thing kept in the dark and nor should it be.
niccy mcorrie
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May 11, 2018
I loved this book. My nan loved it. My work colleagues are now reading it.
Caitlin is great at talking about death and the industry in a way that isnt
creepy or macabre. Its beautiful and just so interesting. Have been a fan
of her YouTube for a few years now. Keep it up fellow deathlings!!
3 people found this review helpful
About the author
Caitlin Doughty was born and raised in Hawaii before gaining a degree in Medieval History from the University of Chicago. She currently lives in Los Angeles where she owns an alternative funeral home, Undertaking LA. She is the creator of the 'Ask a Mortician' web series, the founder of the death acceptance collective The Order of the Good Dead and co-founder of Death Salon.
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