Through candid memoirs, investigative non-fiction, and public education on mortality, non-fiction literature about death and burial practices has gained mainstream cultural prominence, spearheaded by the New York Times bestseller Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory. Written by American mortician and activist Caitlin Doughty, the memoir demystifies body preparation and crematory operations while advocating for systemic reform within Western funeral practices.
By combining firsthand professional experience with historical research and cultural critique, her writings examine how contemporary culture handles dying, grieving, and body disposition. Her work established a foundational framework for the modern death-positive movement, encouraging readers to engage directly with mortality through informed choice, home funeral care, and environmentally sustainable options like human composting and aquamation.
Career & Background
Born on August 19, 1984, on the shores of O’ahu, Hawai’i, Caitlin Doughty grew up as an even-tempered, bookish child whose early curiosity about mortality manifested in macabre questions to her parents. She attended the University of Chicago, where she studied medieval history and authored a senior thesis titled "In Our Image: The Suppression of Demonic Births in Late Medieval Witchcraft Theory." After earning her degree, she relocated to California and entered the funeral industry, gaining hands-on experience as a body-van transport driver, crematory operator, and licensed funeral director while earning a degree in mortuary science from Cypress College.
Seeking to transform commercial funeral practices, Doughty founded the non-profit death acceptance collective The Order of the Good Death in 2011 to encourage open cultural discussions regarding mortality. To further demonstrate alternative approaches to end-of-life care, she opened the alternative Los Angeles funeral home Undertaking LA in 2015, which later became Clarity Funerals and Cremation. She also co-founded the Death Salon event series and created the educational web series "Ask a Mortician," which garnered over 250 million views. Her advocacy and research have been featured by media outlets including National Public Radio, the BBC, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Vice, Forbes, and the New York Times, and she has presented at venues such as TED, SXSW, and the Upright Citizens Brigade.
Writing Style & Themes
Doughty's literary style balances rigorous historical scholarship, professional mortuary expertise, and dark humor to dismantle societal taboos surrounding death. Her narratives juxtapose technical realities of postmortem care with empathetic reflections on grief, bodily decay, and ritual. Across her works, she critiques the commercialization and sanitation of the American funeral industry, arguing that distance from dead bodies increases existential anxiety and strips families of meaningful farewells.
A central theme in her writings is global cross-cultural perspective on death care. In works like From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death, she investigates diverse cultural traditions—from open-air pyres in Colorado to corpse maintenance practices in Indonesia—to argue for alternative legal options in Western end-of-life care. Her work frequently advocates for green burials, home death care, and alternative disposition methods such as aquamation and human composting.
Major Works
- Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory — Published in 2014, this bestselling debut memoir details Doughty's early career working in a San Francisco crematory. Combining personal anecdotes with historical context on corpse management, the book exposes the mechanics of the modern funeral industry while arguing for greater transparency and direct involvement from loved ones.
- From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death — In this 2017 New York Times bestseller, Doughty travels across the globe to explore how different cultures care for their dead. The book documents varied practices—including natural burials, Indonesian ancestor rituals, and Japanese bone-picking ceremonies—to challenge Western commercialized death customs and advocate for death acceptance.
- Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death — Published in 2019, this bestselling volume answers thirty-five candid questions submitted by children regarding science, decomposition, and postmortem biology. Using humorous yet scientifically accurate explanations, Doughty addresses fears and curiosities about what happens to human bodies after death.
