from here to eternity by caitlin doughty

This prompts Doughty to explore process of cremation in more detail by looking at history, current convention, the Crestone Project, and Hinduism. The pyre is run by the Crestone End of Life Project which subverts conventional and commercial American funeral practices. To do so, she encourages us to question our own practices and to explore those of others with open-mindedness.įirst, Doughty travels to Crestone, Colorado where a small community has established one of the Western world's two shared outdoor pyres for cremation.

Doughty argues that 'we need to reform our funeral industry, introducing new practices that aren't so profit-oriented, and that do more to include the family' (14). Doughty is struck by the intimacy between the dead and their loved ones in Belize, which contrasts Western practices in which the commercialization of the industry forces mourners to 'navigate purposeful obfuscations after every loss' (13). A trip to Belize that Doughty took just after opening her funeral home five years ago introduced her to some of the world's very different approaches to death. For example, she is advocates greater involvement of families in the care of bodies and has a progressive attitude toward conventions like embalming which is not, contrary to popular belief, necessary. Her work and philosophical approach to deathcare contrasts many of the accepted conventions in the United States. Hardcover First Edition.Ĭaitlin Doughty is a mortician who runs a nonprofit funeral home in Los Angeles. From Here To Eternity: Traveling The World To find The Good Death. The following version of the book was used to create this study guide: Doughty, Caitlin.

From here to eternity by caitlin doughty