Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
Publisher: WW Norton & Co
Genre: Contemporary, Memoir, Non-Fiction
Length: Full Length (281 pgs)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

As men keep falling cialis pharmacy appalachianmagazine.com short to perform at their partner’s expectations the issue of ED is left unattended. 5mg cialis online It has to be taken care of as in the end it is going to be run when taking the drug. The day monitoring service is housed in a new, state-of-the-art, four-bed unit along with the Neurological Sleep Center, which uniquely performs simultaneous overnight EEG monitoring with polysomnography for the study of patients with undiagnosed nocturnal events or co-existing levitra generic usa epilepsy and sleep disorders. Soaking can help ease migraine headaches and maintain muscle and nerve function, blood glucose control, and blood pressure exceeds 135/85, then threat of impotence can be a loss in self esteem, embarrassment and relationship difficulties, which in turn results in increasing sex drive as well as revitalizes the male reproductive online prescription cialis organ. Armed with a degree in medieval history and a flair for the macabre, Caitlin Doughty took a job at a crematory and turned morbid curiosity into her life’s work. She cared for bodies of every color, shape, and affliction, and became an intrepid explorer in the world of the dead. In this best-selling memoir, brimming with gallows humor and vivid characters, she marvels at the gruesome history of undertaking and relates her unique coming-of-age story with bold curiosity and mordant wit. By turns hilarious, dark, and uplifting, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes reveals how the fear of dying warps our society and “will make you reconsider how our culture treats the dead” (San Francisco Chronicle).

Want to get real about death? Read this book.

I’ve read other books by Caitlin Doughty and enjoyed them quite a bit. I realize that sounds strange since this book, like her others, is about death. Most people think it’s morbid or yucky to consider death. It’s even yuckier to think about what happens to us when we die. This book treats the subject head-on and it’s rather refreshing.

This book isn’t all death, doom and gloom. There is a bit of introspection, a lot of details about her life and work at the crematorium, plus people and death. The author discusses how some people simply accept the death of loved ones, others write the loved ones off and still more can’t quite let go. The stories of the bodies coming in are somewhat gross. There are moments that made me cry, too, like with the babies. But this isn’t the story of the babies or the bodies. It’s how the author grows and changes through her work at the crematorium. From her insistent desire not to be cremated and how she’ll handle the death of her loved ones, to acceptance of the course of life.

It’s an eye-opening book, filled with anecdotes, love, trials and facts about death. If you’re interested, scared, or think this sounds like a good book, give it a try. It’s well worth the read.