Review - From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death
by Caitlin Doughty
released 10/03/2017
236 pages (plus acknowledgments)
Chapters: vary
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I'd seen this book getting positive reviews on GoodReads for a few months, so I decided to take the plunge. This book is the true story of author Caitlin Doughty, whose day job is working as a mortician, travelling the world to explore how other cultures deal with death.
In each chapter, we read about her travels to a different place: Colorado, Indonesia, Mexico, North Carolina, Spain, Japan, Bolivia, and California. In each location, the author tells the story of the different 'death culture' she encountered there - from an open air funeral pyre to living with deceased relatives.
While I found all of the chapters fascinating in their own ways, the ones I was most interested in were the stories about alternative death practices here in the United States. Before I read this book, I truly had no idea that there were other options to traditional funerals, and definitely no idea that this budding movement is happening right here.
I've seen some reviews in passing criticizing the book for being too preachy and trying to claim that other countries around the world do death 'better' than we do here in the U.S. I personally did not find that to be true. If anything, I'd say that the only criticism the author makes is about the close-mindedness of Americans surrounding the topic of death. The funerals we are all familiar with are not the only option that we have. I appreciate Doughty's efforts to try to make death a little scary and taboo - after all, it's not like any of us are getting out of here alive anyway.
I can understand how a lot of readers would find this book to be off-putting. To be fair, there are a few gross scenes, so it's not the best book to read while you're on your lunch break. But it's definitely not dark or morbid. One of my favorite aspects of this book was actually the author's sense of humor constantly lightening things up. If you are willing to go into this book with an open mind, I think you could really learn a lot!
If you're interested in reading this book, consider using my link to purchase it from Amazon (and help me get more books).
by Caitlin Doughty
released 10/03/2017
236 pages (plus acknowledgments)
Chapters: vary
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I'd seen this book getting positive reviews on GoodReads for a few months, so I decided to take the plunge. This book is the true story of author Caitlin Doughty, whose day job is working as a mortician, travelling the world to explore how other cultures deal with death.
In each chapter, we read about her travels to a different place: Colorado, Indonesia, Mexico, North Carolina, Spain, Japan, Bolivia, and California. In each location, the author tells the story of the different 'death culture' she encountered there - from an open air funeral pyre to living with deceased relatives.
While I found all of the chapters fascinating in their own ways, the ones I was most interested in were the stories about alternative death practices here in the United States. Before I read this book, I truly had no idea that there were other options to traditional funerals, and definitely no idea that this budding movement is happening right here.
I've seen some reviews in passing criticizing the book for being too preachy and trying to claim that other countries around the world do death 'better' than we do here in the U.S. I personally did not find that to be true. If anything, I'd say that the only criticism the author makes is about the close-mindedness of Americans surrounding the topic of death. The funerals we are all familiar with are not the only option that we have. I appreciate Doughty's efforts to try to make death a little scary and taboo - after all, it's not like any of us are getting out of here alive anyway.
I can understand how a lot of readers would find this book to be off-putting. To be fair, there are a few gross scenes, so it's not the best book to read while you're on your lunch break. But it's definitely not dark or morbid. One of my favorite aspects of this book was actually the author's sense of humor constantly lightening things up. If you are willing to go into this book with an open mind, I think you could really learn a lot!
If you're interested in reading this book, consider using my link to purchase it from Amazon (and help me get more books).
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