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A review by edgwareviabank
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
The death industry isn't easiest subject matter to handle, and Caitlin Doughty manages to get across some yet that never feel morbid or unbearably heavy. While the book starts with a few anecdotes about her experience in a crematory, and stories from her job continue to be told throughout the book, her key message becomes clear a few chapters in: the Western world's habit of avoiding any kind of reflection on mortality should change.
The arguments are strong. It's easy to take a lot of our rites and customs around death and the dying for granted and believe they are how things have always been done; however, what's really at the heart of them is an impulse to keep death and decay out of sight, in a way that would have felt unnatural before technological progress started enabling people to put structure around the desire to forget we will all die one day. Once Doughty begins talking about the evolution of the funeral industry, and how perfectly it fit with the logic of capitalism and marketing, it's hard to argue with her point of view.
I picked up this book because I know myself enough to know I elude the thought of mortality when given the chance. In fact, when it does hit me, it very often leaves me terrified. I thought staring straight at it on the pages might shift that mindset at least a little bit, and that's exactly what happened, thanks to the author's balanced tone of voice and arguments - and yes, her gallows humour too, which is very much up my street. Highly recommended, even though I'm not necessarily on board with all the "natural death" practices author advocates for (but no one has to agree with every single word in order to enjoy a book, right?).
The arguments are strong. It's easy to take a lot of our rites and customs around death and the dying for granted and believe they are how things have always been done; however, what's really at the heart of them is an impulse to keep death and decay out of sight, in a way that would have felt unnatural before technological progress started enabling people to put structure around the desire to forget we will all die one day. Once Doughty begins talking about the evolution of the funeral industry, and how perfectly it fit with the logic of capitalism and marketing, it's hard to argue with her point of view.
I picked up this book because I know myself enough to know I elude the thought of mortality when given the chance. In fact, when it does hit me, it very often leaves me terrified. I thought staring straight at it on the pages might shift that mindset at least a little bit, and that's exactly what happened, thanks to the author's balanced tone of voice and arguments - and yes, her gallows humour too, which is very much up my street. Highly recommended, even though I'm not necessarily on board with all the "natural death" practices author advocates for (but no one has to agree with every single word in order to enjoy a book, right?).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Medical content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts