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Reviews tagging 'Child death'
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
184 reviews
lookingformybookmark's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Cannibalism
Minor: Animal death, Miscarriage, Excrement, Dementia, Car accident, Abortion, and Pregnancy
sabrinaleaf's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Interesting topic to read about, especially as someone who plans on working in the death industry (coroner to be exact)
The author skillfully delivers fun and humorist stories that deal with such a taboo subject: death. I love how the author provides criticisms of the industry and actually talks about solutions and changes she wants to make to help solve what she thinks is a problem.
The author skillfully delivers fun and humorist stories that deal with such a taboo subject: death. I love how the author provides criticisms of the industry and actually talks about solutions and changes she wants to make to help solve what she thinks is a problem.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, and Death
toastyghosty13's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
3.75
This was a cool book that told the authors story of what it was like to work in a crematory. I could have done without some of the tangential info on Caitlins time living in a neighborhood where there were homeless people and how she started to have feelings with her friend, but everything else in this book was really cool to learn about.
Apparently, it is exceedingly difficult to get into the funeral home industry because it is a family practice that is often passed down, and you find yourself in the existential career cycle of "can't get a job because I need more experience but this job is the only way I can get more experience." This showed Caitlin's journey of breaking into the crematory business and the background of her fascination with the dead, and how she realized her hated for embalming. The people Caitlin work with are also funny and enjoyable to read about.
I would recommend this to anyone curious about cremation and processing the dead, but caution anyone that might be grossed out by bodily fluids.
Apparently, it is exceedingly difficult to get into the funeral home industry because it is a family practice that is often passed down, and you find yourself in the existential career cycle of "can't get a job because I need more experience but this job is the only way I can get more experience." This showed Caitlin's journey of breaking into the crematory business and the background of her fascination with the dead, and how she realized her hated for embalming. The people Caitlin work with are also funny and enjoyable to read about.
I would recommend this to anyone curious about cremation and processing the dead, but caution anyone that might be grossed out by bodily fluids.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
epellicci's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide attempt
butlerebecca's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, and Medical content
Moderate: Transphobia
nataliebootlah's review
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A stark memoir on what happens after death, straight from a mortician.
The majority of people don’t really talk about what happens to their bodies after they die. It’s a bit taboo, isn’t it? That’s exactly Caitlin Doughty’s point.
In this lively exploration of death, Doughty shares pointblank what happens in the crematories of the western world: how a body gets picked up, is stored in a fridge, cleaned, fluids removed, embalmed and perfected for presentation, then cremated. With dark humor, this book challenges our cultural aversion to morality and begs us to invite death into our door. By examining death rituals from around the world, both past and present, Doughty’s goal is to desensitize the average human from death. Thus, encouraging people to have more open and honest conversations about death and the wishes people and their loved ones have for after death.
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes is an unflinchingly, honest read. It invites readers to embrace the inevitability of death, positivity change their relationship with mortality, and challenge the current widespread views of it. It definitely did so for me. But be aware, it is not for the faint of heart.
Shout out to Walker for recommending this and letting me hold onto it for literal years. The recommendation sure did stand the test of time. Cheers who friends who read together (albeit at different times) and cheers to a good death!
The majority of people don’t really talk about what happens to their bodies after they die. It’s a bit taboo, isn’t it? That’s exactly Caitlin Doughty’s point.
In this lively exploration of death, Doughty shares pointblank what happens in the crematories of the western world: how a body gets picked up, is stored in a fridge, cleaned, fluids removed, embalmed and perfected for presentation, then cremated. With dark humor, this book challenges our cultural aversion to morality and begs us to invite death into our door. By examining death rituals from around the world, both past and present, Doughty’s goal is to desensitize the average human from death. Thus, encouraging people to have more open and honest conversations about death and the wishes people and their loved ones have for after death.
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes is an unflinchingly, honest read. It invites readers to embrace the inevitability of death, positivity change their relationship with mortality, and challenge the current widespread views of it. It definitely did so for me. But be aware, it is not for the faint of heart.
Shout out to Walker for recommending this and letting me hold onto it for literal years. The recommendation sure did stand the test of time. Cheers who friends who read together (albeit at different times) and cheers to a good death!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Medical content
Moderate: Miscarriage and Suicide
nadiajohnsonbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Blood, Excrement, and Dementia
jilliant's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
5.0
I’m deadass considering mortuary school after this one
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Suicide
bisexualbookshelf's review
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty is a poignant and unflinching exploration of death that challenges our cultural aversion to mortality. Doughty, armed with a degree in medieval history and a job at a crematory, delves into the often-hidden world of death care with dark humor and thoughtful reflections. The book begins with her first day at the mortuary, where she confronts the reality of death head-on by shaving and cremating bodies. Through these experiences, Doughty humanizes our remains, resisting the erasure of who we were in life.
Doughty's narrative is deeply personal, shaped by witnessing the death of a toddler at the age of eight, an experience that left a lasting impression on her. She argues that our fear of death stems from cultural aversions and a lack of fluency in death’s language. By examining death rituals and practices across time and cultures, Doughty aims to demystify death and encourage a more honest engagement with it. Her writing seamlessly moves between moments of dark comedy and profound insight, insisting that people deserve care and respect even in and after death.
The book critiques the historical shift from dying at home to dying in hospitals, highlighting the medicalization and industrialization of death. Doughty exposes the "funeral industrial complex," driven by capitalism, that has transformed death into a commercial product. Each chapter explores different death practices, from cremation to embalming, showcasing their variations across cultures and history. Doughty demands that we confront death and accept it as a natural biological process, arguing that this acceptance can lead to a more authentic way of living.
However, my experience with the book was marred by a chapter that explores our cultural aversion to decomposing bodies through a fatphobic lens. Doughty's description of cremating a fat person was uncomfortable and detracted from the book’s overall message. This language, though perhaps reflective of the time it was written, feels out of place in an otherwise insightful and respectful exploration of death.
Despite this flaw, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes remains a compelling read that challenges norms about death and invites readers to rethink their relationship with mortality. Doughty's reflections on death are profound and thought-provoking, and I look forward to exploring her more recent work. This book is a bold call to embrace the inevitability of death, urging us to live more fully in its shadow.
📖 Recommended For: Readers fascinated by the macabre, those interested in death rituals across cultures, anyone who values candid discussions about mortality, fans of Mary Roach.
🔑 Key Themes: Mortality and Acceptance, Cultural Death Practices, Capitalism and the Funeral Industry, Humanization of the Dead, Historical Shifts in Death Care.
Doughty's narrative is deeply personal, shaped by witnessing the death of a toddler at the age of eight, an experience that left a lasting impression on her. She argues that our fear of death stems from cultural aversions and a lack of fluency in death’s language. By examining death rituals and practices across time and cultures, Doughty aims to demystify death and encourage a more honest engagement with it. Her writing seamlessly moves between moments of dark comedy and profound insight, insisting that people deserve care and respect even in and after death.
The book critiques the historical shift from dying at home to dying in hospitals, highlighting the medicalization and industrialization of death. Doughty exposes the "funeral industrial complex," driven by capitalism, that has transformed death into a commercial product. Each chapter explores different death practices, from cremation to embalming, showcasing their variations across cultures and history. Doughty demands that we confront death and accept it as a natural biological process, arguing that this acceptance can lead to a more authentic way of living.
However, my experience with the book was marred by a chapter that explores our cultural aversion to decomposing bodies through a fatphobic lens. Doughty's description of cremating a fat person was uncomfortable and detracted from the book’s overall message. This language, though perhaps reflective of the time it was written, feels out of place in an otherwise insightful and respectful exploration of death.
Despite this flaw, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes remains a compelling read that challenges norms about death and invites readers to rethink their relationship with mortality. Doughty's reflections on death are profound and thought-provoking, and I look forward to exploring her more recent work. This book is a bold call to embrace the inevitability of death, urging us to live more fully in its shadow.
📖 Recommended For: Readers fascinated by the macabre, those interested in death rituals across cultures, anyone who values candid discussions about mortality, fans of Mary Roach.
🔑 Key Themes: Mortality and Acceptance, Cultural Death Practices, Capitalism and the Funeral Industry, Humanization of the Dead, Historical Shifts in Death Care.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Blood, and Cannibalism
mnstam's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Blood
Minor: Child death and Death of parent