Name: EY's review of From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty
Item: From Here to Eternity
Author: EY

Caitlin Doughty

As a practising mortician, Caitlin Doughty has long been fascinated by our pervasive terror of dead bodies. In From Here to Eternity she sets out in search of cultures unburdened by such fears. With curiosity and morbid humour, Doughty introduces us to inspiring death-care innovators, participates in powerful death practices almost entirely unknown in the West and explores new spaces for mourning - including a futuristic glowing-Buddha columbarium in Japan, a candlelit Mexican cemetery, and America's only open-air pyre. In doing so she expands our sense of what it means to treat the dead with 'dignity' and reveals unexpected possibilities for our own death rituals.

Travelling the World to Find the Good Death

From Here to Eternity

Kristína Bajzíková

Fascinated by our pervasive fear of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty embarks on a global expedition to discover how other cultures care for the dead. From Zoroastrian sky burials to wish-granting Bolivian skulls, she investigates the world's funerary customs and expands our sense of what it means to treat the dead with dignity. Her account questions the rituals of the American funeral industry--especially chemical embalming--and suggests that the most effective traditions are those that allow mourners to personally attend to the body of the deceased. Exquisitely illustrated by artist Landis Blair, From Here to Eternity is an adventure into the morbid unknown, a fascinating tour through the unique ways people everywhere confront mortality.

Traveling the World to Find the Good Death

I'm torn on this. It's interesting and well-written. But it feels really shallow; Doughty doesn't dig into 

 funeral customs develop in cultures and I'd like to see her really examine her own practice as a funeral director.

I'm torn on this. It's interesting and well-written. But it feels really shallow; Doughty doesn't dig into why funeral customs develop in cultures and I'd like to see her really examine her own practice as a funeral director.

Patrick Book

This is completely incredible and endlessly fascinating. And the illustrations are extremely vital, as most of this context simply would not work if left to the imagination. Brava!

Elisavet Rozaki 

Obviously you have to be comfortable reading about death to enjoy this book. Which I am and wow, what a fantastic book. Interesting, funny, moving. I cried at the end. As hard as death and grief are, they're even more difficult in our sterilized, prescriptive, greed-driven funerary traditions. I'm ready to show up because we need cultural change.

Katelyn Caillouet

Alli

“We avoid the death that surrounds us at our own peril”

Very interesting and easy to read despite the topic. It made me think about how I want the end of my life to go.

As a practising mortician, Caitlin Doughty has long been fascinated by our pervasive terror of dead bodies. In From Here to Eternity she sets out in search of cultures unburdened by such fears. In rural Indonesia, she observes a man clean and dress his grandfather's mummified body. She meets Bolivian ñatitas (cigarette-smoking, wish-granting human skulls), and discovers the Japanese ritual of kotsuage, in which relatives use chopsticks to pluck their loved-ones' bones from cremation ashes. With curiosity and morbid humour, Doughty introduces us to inspiring death-care innovators, participates in powerful death practices almost entirely unknown in the West and explores new spaces for mourning - including a futuristic glowing-Buddha columbarium in Japan, a candlelit Mexican cemetery, and America's only open-air pyre. In doing so she expands our sense of what it means to treat the dead with 'dignity' and reveals unexpected possibilities for our own death rituals.

This book was so interesting! It really got me thinking tbh. Recommend Caitlin's books to everyone they're so good!!

Krystal Karim

gives another meaning to “dark tourist”
we venture around the world, in search of the good death — informative and unique!

Ryan LaFerney

From Here to Eternity is a funny and enlightening travelogue as well as a deeply moving book about the nature of death, and the world of funerary practices the world over. It is also a passionate plea for western funerary practices to become more loving, more sustainable. Doughty believes (and observes in various cultures) that ritual which allows for grief is natural and that we shouldn't shy away from the dead. This will make you reconsider how our culture treats the dead.

I observed, while reading this, that as an Eastern Orthodox Christian, I'm perhaps more comfortable with death than others. In our faith, we venerate bones of saints (and even whole bodies), our funerals emphasize connecting and praying for our departed and we even kiss our love ones in their caskets, and our faith encourages natural burial. 

Still it was neat to learn about other funerary practices around the world.

Fascinated by our pervasive fear of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty set out to discover how other cultures care for the dead. From Here to Eternity is an immersive global journey that introduces compelling, powerful rituals almost entirely unknown in America. In rural Indonesia, she watches a man clean and dress his grandfather's mummified body, which has resided in the family home for two years. In La Paz, she meets Bolivian natitas (cigarette-smoking, wish-granting human skulls), and in Tokyo she encounters the Japanese kotsuage ceremony, in which relatives use chopsticks to pluck their loved-ones' bones from cremation ashes. With boundless curiosity and gallows humor, Doughty vividly describes decomposed bodies and investigates the world's funerary history. She introduces deathcare innovators researching body composting and green burial, and examines how varied traditions, from Mexico's Dias de los Muertos to Zoroastrian sky burial help us see our own death customs in a new light. Doughty contends that the American funeral industry sells a particular--and, upon close inspection, peculiar--set of "respectful" rites: bodies are whisked to a mortuary, pumped full of chemicals, and entombed in concrete. She argues that our expensive, impersonal system fosters a corrosive fear of death that hinders our ability to cope and mourn. By comparing customs, she demonstrates that mourners everywhere respond best when they help care for the deceased, and have space to participate in the process. Exquisitely illustrated by artist Landis Blair, From Here to Eternity is an adventure into the morbid unknown, a story about the many fascinating ways people everywhere have confronted the very human challenge of mortality.

Haley Murray

KADY BURNS

Caroline Lewicki

What an amazing book. Caitlin Doughty's quest to explore death culture around the world will make you think about what will happen when you die - and not in a sad, or creepy, or cynical way at all. It's so elegant but also funny and lighthearted at times. If you've ever been afraid of dying or of dead bodies, you should absolutely read this book. Likewise, if you're not familiar with Doughty, read this and then check out "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and check out her YouTube channel!

Imane

So far my favourite out of the three books that Caitlin Doughty has written about the topic of death. It offers fascinating insight into the industrialisation of death in the Western world as well as a broad spectrum of mourning experiences and practices across different cultures. More than simply describing the different rites surrounding death, it dives deeply into the relationship that the living have with the dead without judgement/pearl-clutching and with respect and reverence, spiced up with a little humour. I had a great time listening to the audiobook but I'll probably give it another go as a physical book in order to benefit from the illustrations! And I wouldn't have minded if the book had been longer, so I hope that Doughty goes back on the road to share with us more compelling accounts on how people around the world care for their dead and prepare themselves for the afterlife.

Lewis John Fisher

Nona G

A lot more entertaining than Catilin's first book, this volume is a collection of death stories from around the world. It's amazing to read about different habits and legends regarding death, gathered through first-hand experiences that Caitlin had while traveling to document this book. I've enjoyed especially the tale about the Indonesian mummies - it's humbling to see how other cultures, the ones that don't fear death, are treating their deceased relatives and their graves.

Sarah Agterhuis

Anyaconda

Finally after following Caitlin on YouTube I dug into her books via audio and they're simply fantastic 👌 highly recommend this to anybody.

Jana Pashovska

All that surrounds us comes from death, every part of every city, and every part of every person.

I am fascinated by death and the whole stigma around it, so I rather enjoyed reading about the various burial practices around the world, including the ways other cultures relate to death, the ways they treat death and the ways they transcend the unspoken barrier between the living and the dead. I only wish there were many more pages to this book, but that's where Google comes in (and the hours spent researching whether I can apply for a sky burial in the future). A recommended read for lovers of the macabre.

Kristína Bajzíková &
From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty

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Kristína Bajzíková &From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty

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Join the club

Kristína Bajzíková &
From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty