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Reviews tagging 'Grief'
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
78 reviews
weelasswithabook's review against another edition
4.5
🌟 Non Fiction
🌟 Popular Science/Autobiographical
This was an interesting read. At surface level, it's a book filled with insights and tidbits of information regarding the life of a crematorium worker. At it's heart, it explores the reckoning of coming to terms with your own mortality and making a difference moving forwards.
Featuring rather gruesome descriptions of death, the decomposition process and pre-burial/cremation preparations, I'd approach with caution if you have a weak stomach. There's also something triggering about the emotionally detached discussions around disposal of infant remains (although not don't callously, it did deeply affect me in a certain way), but it's relevant to the book itself.
One thing that jumped out to me and changed my perceptions was CDs lack of judgement. Exploring different cultures post mortem processes, there was no criticisms there, only the acceptance that something that seems so abstract and gruesome to us is part of someone's sacred culture. For example, tribal rituals where cannibalism is involved. Most people would recoil instantly, buy Doughty discusses these rituals with respect and emphasising how this is simply a different cultures practise and how to them, our ideals of cremation and/or preserving corpses would be looked down upon. So I really appreciated that aspect of it.
Graphic: Cancer, Cannibalism, Death, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Gore, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Terminal illness
charlottedow's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child death, and Suicide
Moderate: Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
raekit's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Fatphobia, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Child death
bumblebre's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Grief
indieandajean's review against another edition
5.0
I was pleasantly surprised to see that this was untrue and that this book was not only extremely well written, but was the key to understanding why Caitlin's death fascination began and how she used her experiences to start the order. This book is a fantastic piece of memoir, and it is also a great place for the uninitiated to start when learning more about the good death and the ways in which we can begin to challenge the funeral industry as it exists today.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Medical trauma, Death of parent, Child death, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Addiction, Car accident, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Murder, Mental illness, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Chronic illness, and Cancer
Minor: Animal death
spookily's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Blood, Child death, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Medical content, and Suicide
Moderate: Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Dementia, Drug use, Cancer, Classism, Violence, War, and Addiction
Minor: Sexism, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Car accident, and Excrement
briar_nettleroot's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Child death, Medical content, and Suicide
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Terminal illness, and Miscarriage
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Grief, Car accident, and Racism
erinsampson91's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Death, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Terminal illness, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Dementia
oliverreeds's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Dementia, Addiction, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
danimacuk's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Medical content