From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty

From Here to Eternity

Subtitle: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death

Author: Caitlin Doughty

Genre: Nonfiction

Publish Date: October 2017

Read: January 2025

Favorite Quote: The Western funeral home loves the word “dignity.” The largest funeral corporation has even trademarked the word. What dignity translates to, more often than not, is silence, a forced poise, a rigid formality.

Synopsis: The Western world doesn’t deal with death particularly well and Funeral Home Owner Caitlin Doughty wants to change this. She traveled the world to learn about cultures who embrace death, seeking to dismantle myths and make more people comfortable with death and the uncomfortable emotions that come with it. She travels to Colorado, North Carolina, Bolivia, Japan, and Mexico in search of different customs to return to the US in hopes of opening up our limited view of death and grieving the dead.

Why does this book beguile? It might seem weird, but I find motivation - and even peace - in talking about death. Why shouldn’t my family know what I want for my death? I may be young, but tomorrow isn’t promised. From Here to Eternity helps readers (aka Westerners/Americans) think about death; not as a horrible thing that must be covered up and squirreled away, but as a natural part of our journey that we all must face.

Rating: 5/5

Link*: From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty

If you’re interested in this, read*: The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday