Just Jennifer

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty (Norton, September 2014)

Caitlin Doughty admits to always having had a, what some might consider, unhealthy obsession with death.  Armed with a degree in Medieval History, and a somewhat morbid, often irreverent, sense of humor, Caitlin began knocking on doors of funeral homes applying for a job.  With no experience and no mortician’s license, it was hard going until Mike at Westwind Cremation and Burial in San Francisco hands her a pink razor and instructs her to shave a man before the family arrives for a private viewing prior to the man’s cremation.  Never having shaved a man, dead or alive, Caitlin does her best and must have passed muster because she was hired and began her career seeing to the final wishes, and disposition, of people after their deaths.  With good-humor and some self-deprecation, Caitlin describes not only her first few months learning the business, including the people (dead and alive) she met and how they responded to death.  She also includes some self-reflection, how she became fascinated with death, how death is viewed in our culture and offers some musings as to how we, as a society might better deal with death, the death of our loved ones and our own impending mortality.  Caitlin tells her stories respectfully and thoughtfully, not sugar-coating the process, but not glamorizing or exploiting what can be one of the most private moments of a life.  Caitlin has since become a licensed mortician and is the creator and host of the web series “Ask a Mortician”.  You don’t need to be fascinated by death to enjoy this heartfelt, honest memoir.