📖 Overview
Caitlin Doughty is a mortician, author, and death acceptance advocate who founded The Order of the Good Death and the death acceptance movement known as "Death Positive." She owns and operates a funeral home in Los Angeles, California, focused on natural burial practices and family involvement in death care.
Her books include "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," "From Here to Eternity," and "Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?" which examine death customs, funeral practices, and mortality through a combination of personal experience and historical research. Her work frequently challenges the modern funeral industry while promoting more direct engagement with death and dying.
Doughty's YouTube channel "Ask a Mortician" has garnered millions of views by addressing death-related topics with a blend of historical insight and practical information. The channel covers subjects ranging from famous corpses to funeral industry practices and death customs from around the world.
Since earning her degree in medieval history from the University of Chicago and her mortuary science degree from Cypress College, Doughty has become a leading voice in the alternative death care movement. Her advocacy work focuses on funeral reform and promoting death acceptance through education and open dialogue.
👀 Reviews
Readers connect with Doughty's direct, honest approach to death topics and her use of humor to discuss mortality. Her books earn consistent 4.5+ star ratings across platforms.
What readers liked:
- Clear explanations of complex death topics
- Balance of education and entertainment
- Personal stories mixed with historical facts
- Accessible writing style that makes death less scary
- Research depth presented in digestible format
What readers disliked:
- Some find her humor inappropriate for serious topics
- Select readers wanted more technical detail
- A few note repetition between her books/videos
Ratings:
Goodreads:
- Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: 4.17/5 (124k ratings)
- From Here to Eternity: 4.29/5 (45k ratings)
- Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: 4.27/5 (35k ratings)
Amazon averages 4.8/5 across all titles
Common reader quote: "Makes death fascinating rather than frightening"
Notable criticism: "Sometimes tries too hard to be quirky" - Goodreads review
📚 Books by Caitlin Doughty
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory (2014)
A memoir detailing Doughty's early experiences working at a crematory and her introduction to the death industry.
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death (2017) An exploration of death practices and funeral rituals across different cultures, including Indonesia, Bolivia, Japan, and Spain.
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death (2019) A collection of answers to children's questions about death, covering topics from decomposition to burial practices.
Death X Talking (2023) A graphic novel memoir exploring the author's early life and her path to becoming a mortician and death acceptance advocate.
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death (2017) An exploration of death practices and funeral rituals across different cultures, including Indonesia, Bolivia, Japan, and Spain.
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death (2019) A collection of answers to children's questions about death, covering topics from decomposition to burial practices.
Death X Talking (2023) A graphic novel memoir exploring the author's early life and her path to becoming a mortician and death acceptance advocate.
👥 Similar authors
Mary Roach writes about science topics including death, human bodies, and medical history through interviews and firsthand research. Her books explore similar taboo subjects as Doughty's work and incorporate historical perspectives with modern scientific understanding.
Lindsey Fitzharris focuses on medical history and the evolution of surgery and mortuary practices. Her work details historical attitudes toward death and medicine while maintaining scientific accuracy and archival research.
Jessica Mitford investigated and exposed practices in the American funeral industry through investigative journalism. Her book "The American Way of Death" sparked reform in funeral practices and shares Doughty's mission of industry transparency.
Thomas Lynch combines his experience as both a funeral director and a poet to write about death and mortality. His essays and memoirs examine the intersection of death care and human experience from an insider's perspective.
Brandy Schillace writes about medical history and the cultural history of death through academic research and storytelling. Her work connects historical practices to modern understanding while examining how societies deal with death and human remains.
Lindsey Fitzharris focuses on medical history and the evolution of surgery and mortuary practices. Her work details historical attitudes toward death and medicine while maintaining scientific accuracy and archival research.
Jessica Mitford investigated and exposed practices in the American funeral industry through investigative journalism. Her book "The American Way of Death" sparked reform in funeral practices and shares Doughty's mission of industry transparency.
Thomas Lynch combines his experience as both a funeral director and a poet to write about death and mortality. His essays and memoirs examine the intersection of death care and human experience from an insider's perspective.
Brandy Schillace writes about medical history and the cultural history of death through academic research and storytelling. Her work connects historical practices to modern understanding while examining how societies deal with death and human remains.