Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

After all my post in April, I’ve found myself busy in May and not very prolific.  I am writing a longer post about my recent injury, but that’s not yet ready.  I did sail this weekend, the first time since the accident, but didn't take photos.  Over the past couple of months, I’ve read a number of books that I had wanted to review, but have never gotten around to it.  Most I probably won’t get around to it, but this was one that I thought deserved a review. 

Caitlin Doughty, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory (New York: Norton, 2014), 254 pages

Having grown up in Hawaii and with a degree in medieval history, Caitlin Doughty may seem an odd candidate for operating a retort (the machine that burns the body) in a crematory.  But it’s not as far-fetched as one might think.  Her college studies involved the persecutions of witches, and those suspected of such activities often ended up being burned.  Thankful, Doughty was only burning the already deceased, but she paused long enough to reflect on the comparisons. 

Doughty first took a position in a Bay Area crematory that had a variety of clientele that included unclaimed bodies from the county morgue, people looking for low cost cremations, and immigrant groups who wanted to be with the body as it was burned.   The crematory’s two retorts were often busy and she reflects on picking out which bodies to burn and how, when they had extra time, they would burn unclaimed bodies or even amputee body parts from local hospitals.  You learn the details, the temperature of the retort, what happens to bones and to those who have a lot of excess fat (some of this is gross).  During her time at this crematory, Doughty experiences all parts of the business:  operating the retorts, picking up bodies, meeting with family members, and preparing the body for viewing.  Her first day at work she had to shave a man.  Bodies that are to be viewed are generally embalmed and we learn of the hazards of such chemicals.   As Doughty tells of her adventures, she also recounts the history of the funeral industry (it really got going during the American Civil War) and what has happened to it since then including the writings of Jessica Mitford.  She tells her story, along with the details of the history, with humor and grace.  She introduces her co-workers who mostly seem pretty normal, but then she tells about her adventures of going to S&M clubs while in high school in Hawaii to be flogged (high school, really?).

While working at the Bay Area Crematory, Doughty applies to mortuary school and leaves the Bay Area for Southern California.  Working with the dead, she begins to understand and appreciate the role the funeral business provides.  Although death rituals have often been tied to religious beliefs, she realizes how the American way of “hiding death” within the funeral industry doesn’t allow people an opportunity to grieve.  She encourages people to reclaim the practice of Ars Moriendi  (the art of dying).  She starts a website (The Order of the Good Death) and muses about opening her own crematory in which people could participate in meaningful ways to handle the bodies of loved ones.   

I recommend this memoir. Believe it or not, there are some funny parts in this book.  Furthermore, sooner or later, our bodies will no longer be functioning.  When that happens, things go south quickly (which is why we have funeral rituals: there is a body and something has to be done with it).  Knowing what happens after our lives are over, and making some decisions that reflect our beliefs, may give us comfort and also be comforting to those left behind.  By the way, this is the second book I’ve reviewed in this blog (two out of several hundred) about the funeral industry.  The other, which I also recommend, is Thomas Lynch’s The Undertaking.  Doughty referred to Lynch’s writing in her book.

As for what happens to us after the grave or retort, check out The Walking Man's musings.  Some interesting thoughts to ponder about our view of the next life.