Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory

Caitlin Doughty’s memoir begins not with a philosophical treatise, but with the visceral reality of a corpse being shaved. Armed with a degree in medieval history and a deep-seated fear of mortality forged in childhood, she takes a job at a crematory in San Francisco, seeking to demystify the ultimate taboo. The narrative plunges the reader into the gritty, gallows-humored world of Westwind Cremation & Burial, where Doughty learns the mechanics of cremation, the art of body removal, and the profound strangeness of caring for the dead. Her apprenticeship becomes a lens through which she examines the bizarre evolution of American death practices. She traces the rise of embalming to the logistical horrors of the Civil War and critiques its perpetuation as a cosmetic, commercial necessity. The book contrasts this with a global survey of funeral rites, from Tibetan sky burials to the mortuary cannibalism of the Wari’ people, illustrating how other cultures maintain a more integrated, less fearful relationship with death. Doughty’s journey leads her to mortuary school, where she clashes with an industry curriculum she views as perpetuating death denial. Her experiences coalesce into a coherent philosophy: that the professionalized, hidden handling of corpses severs the living from a necessary confrontation with mortality, warping our culture and personal psychology. The memoir culminates in her founding of The Order of the Good Death, an advocacy group dedicated to reforming death practices. Ultimately, this is a coming-of-age story that argues for reclaiming death as a natural, even sacred, part of life. Doughty makes a compelling case for transparency, ecological responsibility, and personal agency in our final passage, targeting anyone unsettled by the sterile, expensive, and emotionally distant modern way of death.