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3.72k reviews for:
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death
Caitlin Doughty
4.32 AVERAGE
3.72k reviews for:
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death
Caitlin Doughty
4.32 AVERAGE
This book was surprisingly impressive - not that I was expecting it to be awful! But I figured all of her information about death practices around the world would be gathered from books she read, but no, it's all her own first hand experience. She discusses her experiences with death around the world and she does so in an entertaining and educational way. It reminds me of the awesome books I read while taking anthropology classes. I loved it.
I do have one issue - there were moments in the book when I felt that she was a little too judgmental. I am a big believer in "to each their own" (as long as they're not hurting anyone). So it doesn't bother me if someone wants to be embalmed and buried in a pricey casket. Or if someone wants nothing to do with their dead relative's corpse. But the author makes it sound at times as if that's the WORST! I agree with the author on how there are much better ways to go about death. But I'm not going to hate on people who want to view a body encased in glass or who don't want to touch a corpse. Personally, I don't want any of those sweet and sentimental proceedings she talks about. My family just isn't that close. But I respect those who do want that.
That was my only problem though. Everything else I loved. I now want my own natita. I also want my body donated to forensic anthropology (I looked it up and there's a body farm here in Michigan that studies how snow and cold affects decomp - fun!).
I do have one issue - there were moments in the book when I felt that she was a little too judgmental. I am a big believer in "to each their own" (as long as they're not hurting anyone). So it doesn't bother me if someone wants to be embalmed and buried in a pricey casket. Or if someone wants nothing to do with their dead relative's corpse. But the author makes it sound at times as if that's the WORST! I agree with the author on how there are much better ways to go about death. But I'm not going to hate on people who want to view a body encased in glass or who don't want to touch a corpse. Personally, I don't want any of those sweet and sentimental proceedings she talks about. My family just isn't that close. But I respect those who do want that.
That was my only problem though. Everything else I loved. I now want my own natita. I also want my body donated to forensic anthropology (I looked it up and there's a body farm here in Michigan that studies how snow and cold affects decomp - fun!).
I can't believe she waited to drop the incredibly good word "deathstination" until after the bibliography.
I love Doughty’s first book and it really made me think differently about the funeral industry, and I was already kind of open-minded about it. This book was amazing - I loved hearing about death in different cultures, both from a research standpoint as well as Doughty’s own experiences. It was a perfect balance of nonfiction and memoir.
this doesn’t quite break new ground like smoke gets in your eyes does, but it’s nonetheless always deeply comforting to hear doughty’s insights on death and ritual, and this book offers further hope and opportunity to learn from its forays into diverse relationships with death and the body around the world. the time after and around death can be so meaningful despite the pain associated, and i do feel i’ve genuinely benefited from shifting my mindset and incorporating new perspectives around these ideas. doughty’s work is just undeniably hugely impactful.
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I just wanted something different from this book. It’s fine if all you want from it is some explorations of funeral customs in different cultures. As a physician who deals with death regularly this wasn’t enough for me.
The book repeatedly makes the argument that Americans are too detached from the dead bodies of our loved ones. There is some vague allusion that this is because the funeral industry pushes for expensive caskets and otherwise makes the process unnecessarily expensive and detached. But I didn’t hear any evidence that a closer relationship with a corpse is beneficial to the grieving process. Nowhere were there any examples of studies or even just anecdotes showing that Americans forget our dead or have more trouble grieving than in these other cultures. (It may well be true, but if you’re going to make the argument that we should be touching and hanging out with our corpses, back it up with something.)
I definitely think America has some major hangups around death but this book does not make any inroads into how to address them, in my opinion. Maybe a later edition could add some discussion by a sociologist about the American attitude toward (and fear of) death. Maybe the author could visit a hospital with a family whose loved one is dying of cancer but whose family still want aggressive resuscitation due to that fear of death.
The book repeatedly makes the argument that Americans are too detached from the dead bodies of our loved ones. There is some vague allusion that this is because the funeral industry pushes for expensive caskets and otherwise makes the process unnecessarily expensive and detached. But I didn’t hear any evidence that a closer relationship with a corpse is beneficial to the grieving process. Nowhere were there any examples of studies or even just anecdotes showing that Americans forget our dead or have more trouble grieving than in these other cultures. (It may well be true, but if you’re going to make the argument that we should be touching and hanging out with our corpses, back it up with something.)
I definitely think America has some major hangups around death but this book does not make any inroads into how to address them, in my opinion. Maybe a later edition could add some discussion by a sociologist about the American attitude toward (and fear of) death. Maybe the author could visit a hospital with a family whose loved one is dying of cancer but whose family still want aggressive resuscitation due to that fear of death.
I'm somewhat surprised by how much I loved this.
But I did.
The frank, open, and genuine presentation of other cultures death rituals was so lovely to read, and really gave me something to think about.
But I did.
The frank, open, and genuine presentation of other cultures death rituals was so lovely to read, and really gave me something to think about.
This is a very interesting look at the customs people hold around death and the dead. The telling is kept light with humorous (but tasteful) asides on this often dark and serious subject. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about what different cultures think, feel and do to honor their dead and what the options may be for my own demise.
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
This was a really lovely and insightful book! Doughty has a clear and enjoyable voice, and while some of the specifics of various rites went over my head, I'm glad to have read these experiences. I only wish there were a few more chapters to cover more countries and cultures.
This was a really lovely and insightful book! Doughty has a clear and enjoyable voice, and while some of the specifics of various rites went over my head, I'm glad to have read these experiences. I only wish there were a few more chapters to cover more countries and cultures.