Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory

Caitlin Doughty

Sep 2014 · Recorded Books · Narrated by Caitlin Doughty

About this audiobook

Most people want to avoid thinking about death, but Caitlin Doughty - a twenty-something with a degree in medieval history and a flair for the macabre - took a job at a crematory, turning morbid curiosity into her life's work. With an original voice that combines fearless curiosity and mordant wit, Caitlin tells an unusual coming-of-age story full of bizarre encounters, gallows humor, and vivid characters (both living and very dead). Describing how she swept ashes from the machines (and sometimes onto her clothes), and cared for bodies of all shapes and sizes, Caitlin becomes an intrepid explorer in the world of the deceased. Her eye-opening memoir shows how our fear of dying warps our culture and society, and she calls for better ways of dealing with death (and our dead). In the spirit of her popular Web series, "Ask a Mortician," Caitlin's engaging narrative style makes this otherwise scary topic both approachable and profound. "America's (kinda dark) sweetheart" (Huffington Post)Caitlin Doughty, the host and creator of the "Ask a Mortician" Web series and the collective Order of the Good Death, is on a mission to change the way we think about death.

Ratings and reviews

What a fantastic book! I loved absolutely everything about it. So candid and honest. It was exactly what I've needed to hear. After the death of my father I had unanswered questions and this book answered them all

Caitlin is a phenomenal author and narrator! Her writing sucks you into a world you'd never thought was so fascinating. Definitely a good read or listen!

Narrated beautifully by the author herself, this fascinating and consuming (audio)book is my favourite read this year!

About the author

Caitlin Doughty is a licensed mortician and the host and creator of the "Ask a Mortician" web series. She founded the death acceptance collective The Order of the Good Death and cofounded Death Salon. Her first book, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory, was published in 2015.