Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty

41 reviews

angorarabbit's review against another edition

dark funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

Context:  I have been following Ms Doughty’s YouTube channel for a few years now, it’s about time I read her first book. 

 

This is mainly a memoir and I am not qualified to judge Ms Doughty’s life. Her writing style is bright and breezy even when talking about serious things. That is not to say that she makes light of her topics, she absolutely does not. She sounds like the type of funeral director I wish my mother had talked to when choosing the casket for my grandfather. 

 

There has been many deaths in my life, human and non-human animals. And I have been watching the videos so the message of the book was something I was familiar with already. I can see that it would be very helpful for those who are having their first encounter with the US funeral industry. 

 

One of my fears about death is the mess someone or other will have to clean up. I would be happy if my cats could eat not just my eyeballs but the rest of me as well, leaving a nice clean skeleton to put in some anatomy lab somewhere. While it does not seem like putting bodies in the forest for the bear, wolf, and mountain lion to consume willt be feasible (at least not legally) in the near future, I hope  Ms Doughty and others will make a future in the US where loved ones are not pressured to go into debt while their grief is still fresh and where everyone can grieve as they need too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Suicide, Dementia, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Car accident

Graphic descriptions of the process of cremation, embalming, and other funeral practices.

pandaintheshelves's review against another edition

funny informative reflective

5.0

A girl always remembers the first corpse she shaves. It's like a virginity, your first time is awkward, you're not really sure what to do, and it's over before you know it. But with each subsequent corpse, you learn a little more, make fewer mistakes, and figure out how to find pleasure in the little things

This is one of the best first lines I've ever read 😅

If someone had told me a month ago that a non-fiction book would make me laugh and cry to the same extent, I wouldn’t have believed them.

I wish this author were my professor because she made learning about end-of-life rituals and customs fun without being disrespectful or emotionally detached.

Brace yourself, this is not for the faint of heart. It also may be particularly difficult for people who've experienced a recent loss ⚠️ Be mindful of your mental health and check the content warnings, please. That's the most important thing 🙏

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Child death and Cannibalism

veeples's review against another edition

emotional funny informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This has been one of my favorite reads all year, hands down. I’ve followed Caitlin Doughty on her YouTube channel for years and I’m so glad I got around to listening to this book. Caitlin’s humor shines through that adds a bit of lightness to such heavy material, but not inappropriately so. I enjoyed seeing her journey in her relationship to death and her reflections on others’ who appear in the book and their own relationship with death. I’ve always had an appreciation for what she stands for in regards to agency in dying and opening up a conversation about death, and reading this has only deepened that.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Child death, Grief, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Car accident, Dementia, Abortion, Cancer, and Cannibalism

alicroz34's review against another edition

dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

This book is full of really excellent, extremely dark information. It does, however, very much read like someone's first book. It hits its stride after the first quarter or so. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Child death, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Blood, Addiction, Miscarriage, Dementia, Cannibalism, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Racial slurs, Addiction, Sexism, Racism, and Misogyny

aleyajo's review against another edition

funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Reminds me of Stiff but more of a memoir. Likable author. Thoughtful perspective on the death industry. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Suicide attempt, and Death

frankieclc's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Child death, Grief, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Suicide, Body horror, and Gore

soconnell104's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Cannibalism

jesslynn544's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

this book was fantastic. it gives you another perspective on death but also reminds you of your humanity. reminds you that you are faced with death every day. this also taught me so much more about crematories and what goes on with our physical bodies after we pass. told in a great voice like an old friend talking about it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Child death, Blood, and Suicide

Minor: Cannibalism

miafromorchardstreet's review against another edition

dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Cannibalism and Child death

just_jeffrey0597's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Very informative and leads to a thought provoking experience about death and dying in American society 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Cannibalism, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Child death, Dementia, Addiction, Drug use, and Drug abuse