Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Child death'
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
167 reviews
nikenacs's review against another edition
4.75
The ins and outs of the crematorium are interesting enough, but the true strength of this book is in its reflections on our society's attitude towards death. Absolutely 10/10 on that front. As someone who has had little to no contact with death in my personal life, this gave me a lot to think about.
Very US-centric, which is not a bad thing, but instead made me very curious to research how the funeral industry works in Germany, and Western Europe in general.
A tad superficial at times, oftentimes a chapter ended just when I felt like we were really getting into it. I appreciate that it combined more light-hearted personal memoir elements with philosophy and history as well as politics, but it could have been a tad more of the latter for my taste.
But all in all, I'm not being hyperbolic when I say this opened my eyes on how we treat both our dead and our dying. Will be recommending, will be checking out more of Doughty's work.
(And on a personal note, I knew I was right when I wanted to set up my testament and funeral wishes when I was in elementary school! Take that, parents.)
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
Moderate: Cancer, Violence, Cannibalism, Fatphobia, and Terminal illness
Minor: Addiction, Miscarriage, and Abortion
inthemoonlight's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Medical content, Car accident, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Cannibalism
angorarabbit's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Suicide, Dementia, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Car accident
Graphic descriptions of the process of cremation, embalming, and other funeral practices.pandaintheshelves's review against another edition
5.0
A girl always remembers the first corpse she shaves. It's like a virginity, your first time is awkward, you're not really sure what to do, and it's over before you know it. But with each subsequent corpse, you learn a little more, make fewer mistakes, and figure out how to find pleasure in the little things
This is one of the best first lines I've ever read 😅
If someone had told me a month ago that a non-fiction book would make me laugh and cry to the same extent, I wouldn’t have believed them.
I wish this author were my professor because she made learning about end-of-life rituals and customs fun without being disrespectful or emotionally detached.
Brace yourself, this is not for the faint of heart. It also may be particularly difficult for people who've experienced a recent loss ⚠️ Be mindful of your mental health and check the content warnings, please. That's the most important thing 🙏
Graphic: Medical content, Suicide, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Child death and Cannibalism
veeples's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Child death, Grief, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Car accident, Dementia, Abortion, Cancer, and Cannibalism
nialystic's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Suicide, Gore, Child death, Body horror, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Fatphobia and Suicidal thoughts
finnickdeservedbetter's review against another edition
5.0
Themes
• Death positivity and death plans
• The American/western Death industry
• Confronting the fear of death
• Death practices
My Thoughts:
Baby's (23yo's) first memior!
I was already familiar with Caitlin prior to reading this. Both through her YouTube videos and having read her other two novels.
Favourite Quote:
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Minor: Medical content, Blood, Miscarriage, and Death of parent
burningbeaker's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Suicide, Child death, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
harrimyers's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Blood, Cancer, Terminal illness, Child death, and Dementia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Fatphobia
Minor: Cultural appropriation and Colonisation
alicroz34's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Medical content, Child death, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Blood, Addiction, Miscarriage, Dementia, Cannibalism, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Racial slurs, Addiction, Sexism, Racism, and Misogyny