From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death Paperback – October 9, 2018

This book is absolutely phenomenal, definitely earned its newfound spot in my Top 5 Books Ever Read. Love the way she writes, makes you laugh, cry, basically the whole range of emotions all wrapped up into one package. Felt like I was there with her on her travels. The illustrations were also gorgeous and helpful for the imagination throughout. Each story/location more immersive than the last. Contemplating mortality is something every human being needs to do, and Caitlin guides you through it with grace, compassion, and humor. Taught me so many things I wouldn’t have known otherwise. Thank you Caitlin for taking the time and energy to write this highly entertaining and enlightening saga. Currently passing this book around to my friends and family so they can benefit from this knowledge as well. Her first book, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, is also completely worth the read and a great intro to this book, so if you are interested I’d highly recommend reading that one before this one. All the love from over here—

Interesting informative and gives you a completely different way to view death and the dying. I highly recommend all her books and I am not much into books but hers just have a perfect amount of classy respectful humor within a very well written accounts of her experience working in the death industry through her books I have found death to not be as fearful as it was before learning the depth she bring to life and death. It’s now something I have come to accept as part of life and is all our fate and knowing that I don’t truly fear it as much as fear grief over losing my parents but I will handle it much better after reading her wonderful books and following her on social media

Required text books for nursing school are typically not this riveting. I absolutely loved learning about different death rituals around the world. Fantastic read! I love Caitlin’s humor and I respect her knowledge. My 15 year old daughter wants to study forensics or go to Mortuary school. I can’t wait for her to read this so we can have our own little book club.I would love to meet Caitlin Doughty and travel to Tibet together.

These essays span a range of countries and cultures that Doughty has witnessed processing their dead and their grief. Not only did I learn about the process of embalming, cremating and burial, but also I learned about the emotional value of ritual, of showing up and of how commercialization of deathcare has led to a growing sanitization and suppression of genuine grief.Some of the essays genuinely made me think about the autonomy that women are allowed to have over their bodies (and whether their choice of death is a final grasping claim for it). Some of the essays also made me realize, as Doughty puts it, that the American need for a dignified aesthetic death actually takes away from the fact that death and grief are emotionally messy. By not providing actual time for the families and loved ones to process the absence of their deceased, to appreciate the decomposing body as not just a corpse but as a vessel of their loved one, and by not providing a safe shameless space for grief, Commercial American funeral services aren't letting people find the emotional connection and closure that death provides.I also like that despite the constant discussion of death, Doughty's writing has a serious and yet pleasant tone to it. She makes jokes without making fun of the dead or of the sacredness of dying. She writes about her travels in a way that seeks to genuinely explore the cultures that she visits, rather than capture them in some exploitative way. Maybe my final takeaway from this book is that it gave me a lot of consideration on how I would like my body to be handled after death, and asking my parents the same.

Got this as a gift for my sister. She loves the authors YouTube channel and enjoyed the book. I haven't personally read it but she has it in her main rotation of books.

In "From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death," Caitlin Doughty takes readers on a thought-provoking and visually stunning odyssey through diverse cultural practices surrounding death and funerary traditions. As a passionate mortician, Doughty is not only intrigued by the pervasive fear of dead bodies but also committed to exploring how different societies honor and care for their deceased. Her journey spans the globe, revealing practices such as Zoroastrian sky burials and the Bolivian tradition of wish-granting skulls.Doughty’s keen insights challenge the conventional norms of the American funeral industry, especially the standard use of chemical embalming, advocating instead for more personal and intimate rituals that empower mourners to connect with their loved ones one last time. Coupled with the exquisite illustrations of Landis Blair, this book becomes not just an exploration of death, but an invigorating conversation about dignity, cultural sensitivity, and the many ways we can confront mortality. "From Here to Eternity" is a captivating blend of cultural anthropology, eloquent writing, and art that encourages readers to rethink their own relationship with death and the customs surrounding it, making it a must-read for anyone interested in the deeper meanings of life and loss.

I loved this book. All of her books are interesting and fun.