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The Resource From here to eternity : traveling the world to find the good death, Caitlin Doughty ; illustrations by Landis Blair

From here to eternity : traveling the world to find the good death, Caitlin Doughty ; illustrations by Landis Blair

Creator
Author
Summary
Fascinated by our pervasive fear of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty set out to discover how other cultures care for the dead. In rural Indonesia, she watches a man clean and dress his grandfather's mummified body, which has resided in the family home for two years. In La Paz, she meets Bolivian natitas (cigarette-smoking, wish-granting human skulls), and in Tokyo she encounters the Japanese kotsuage ceremony, in which relatives use chopsticks to pluck their loved-ones' bones from cremation ashes. Doughty vividly describes decomposed bodies and investigates the world's funerary history. She introduces deathcare innovators researching body composting and green burial, and examines how varied traditions, from Mexico's Días de los Muertos to Zoroastrian sky burial help us see our own death customs in a new light. Doughty contends that the American funeral industry sells a particular -- and, upon close inspection, peculiar -- set of 'respectful' rites: bodies are whisked to a mortuary, pumped full of chemicals, and entombed in concrete. She argues that our expensive, impersonal system fosters a corrosive fear of death that hinders our ability to cope and mourn. By comparing customs, she demonstrates that mourners everywhere respond best when they help care for the deceased, and have space to participate in the process. Illustrated by artist Landis Blair, From Here to Eternity is an adventure into the morbid unknown, a story about the many fascinating ways people everywhere have confronted the very human challenge of mortality
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xiii, 248 pages
Isbn
9780393249897
Instance
Label
From here to eternity : traveling the world to find the good death
Title
From here to eternity
Title remainder
traveling the world to find the good death
Statement of responsibility
Caitlin Doughty ; illustrations by Landis Blair
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
Fascinated by our pervasive fear of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty set out to discover how other cultures care for the dead. In rural Indonesia, she watches a man clean and dress his grandfather's mummified body, which has resided in the family home for two years. In La Paz, she meets Bolivian natitas (cigarette-smoking, wish-granting human skulls), and in Tokyo she encounters the Japanese kotsuage ceremony, in which relatives use chopsticks to pluck their loved-ones' bones from cremation ashes. Doughty vividly describes decomposed bodies and investigates the world's funerary history. She introduces deathcare innovators researching body composting and green burial, and examines how varied traditions, from Mexico's Días de los Muertos to Zoroastrian sky burial help us see our own death customs in a new light. Doughty contends that the American funeral industry sells a particular -- and, upon close inspection, peculiar -- set of 'respectful' rites: bodies are whisked to a mortuary, pumped full of chemicals, and entombed in concrete. She argues that our expensive, impersonal system fosters a corrosive fear of death that hinders our ability to cope and mourn. By comparing customs, she demonstrates that mourners everywhere respond best when they help care for the deceased, and have space to participate in the process. Illustrated by artist Landis Blair, From Here to Eternity is an adventure into the morbid unknown, a story about the many fascinating ways people everywhere have confronted the very human challenge of mortality
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Doughty, Caitlin
Dewey number
363.7/5
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
no index present
LC call number
R2A622
LC item number
.D68 2017
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Funeral rites and ceremonies
  • Death
Label
From here to eternity : traveling the world to find the good death, Caitlin Doughty ; illustrations by Landis Blair
Instantiates
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Dimensions
22 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xiii, 248 pages
Isbn
9780393249897
Lccn
2017025059
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
n
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
  • ocn971348404
  • (OCoLC)971348404
Label
From here to eternity : traveling the world to find the good death, Caitlin Doughty ; illustrations by Landis Blair
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Dimensions
22 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xiii, 248 pages
Isbn
9780393249897
Lccn
2017025059
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
n
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
  • ocn971348404
  • (OCoLC)971348404

Subject

Genre

Library Locations

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