In the US, death is hidden from the public eye. When people are sick or aged, they go to a hospital or nursing home. When people die, their bodies are taken discretely to the morgue, and then to a funeral home. The average American will only see a dead person in the context of a funeral, or if they are witness to some tragedy.
In “
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” Caitlin Doughty pulls back the sheet (pun intended) on the death industry, specifically about her first job at a crematorium, and attending mortuary school. Through her experiences she contemplates how our separation from death has given us knew fears and anxieties, as well as given funeral homes control over our death traditions. She ends stating her intention to changing the funeral industry to allow us to be more directly involved with caring for our dead.
In her follow-up book “
From here to eternity: traveling the world to find the good death” Caitlin travels to the world to observe the different rituals around death. She emphasizes that what is considered proper and respectful to the dead in one culture might be off-putting and disturbing to another. For instance, we shy away from open funeral pyres and natural burial, while many cultures would consider the embalming process of the US horrifying. What she believes is important is to be present and involved in the death process, as it is important to our grieving process and to honor the dead.
Learn more about Caitlin Doughty at
Ask a Mortician and
Order of the Good Death.