From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death

by Caitlin Doughty

Landis Blair (Illustrator)

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.

• ISBN10: 0393356280
• ISBN13: 9780393356281
• Publish Date: 9 October 2018 (first published 3 October 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: WW Norton & Co
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[Beth C.]

What a fascinating book! As someone who has contemplated our remove from death here in the US, and the lack of options available to those who prefer to have something more "natural", this was an interesting look at how other countries manage their dead, from the slightly familiar Dios de los Muertos, to the people who caretake the bodies of their dead for YEARS after they have passed. It gives me hope that one day, those of us in the US will have a better relationship with the idea of death, and more options in which to help our loved ones take their final steps.

[ktshpd]

Liked it even better than Smoke Gets In Your Eyes. Good balance of humor, thoughtfulness, and respect for others. Also, VERY interesting to read about how everyone else who isn't 🇺🇸 has way COOLER death related rituals. #recompostme