The Culture of Death

I don't know if it started back in college with my anthropology classes, when I first watched Six Feet Under, or if it was when I decided to pick up Stiff: the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers when I was home from work during a hurricane. Perhaps it was even the goth people I knew in high school. Whatever it was that first piqued my interest, I've kept up my fascination with death and funeral practices for many, many years.

To me skeletons are beautiful, and so are the different funeral practices worldwide. In the first episode of Six Feet Under, the character Nate laments at how clinical and reserved American funerals are, and recounts a funeral he saw from afar in Italy (or maybe Greece). It's a notion that has really struck a chord with me, particularly considering the number of funerals I've had to attend in my adult life.

It's natural to have curiosity about death. It's the one experience where we can't really get a first-person account. Cultures and traditions have arisen to help us cope and feel better about the loss. As technology advances, new methods for handling the dead crop up. Below you'll find a list of books from our collection that explore death and the funeral industry.

The American Way of Death Revisited by Jessica Mitford - Here is the classic anatomy of America's funeral practices, revised, expanded, and brought up-to-date for a new generation. This revised edition contains completely new chapters on, among other things, prepayment ("Pay Now - Die Poorer") and the new multinational corporations ("A Global Village of the Dead"), as well as a jaundiced look at the failure of the Federal Trade Commission to enforce the laws that the original edition of this book helped bring about. And, of course, there's a total updating of the facts and figures that tell the tale.

From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty - Describes death customs and rituals from around the world, exploring how they compare to the impersonal American system and how mourners respond best when they participate in caring for the deceased. This book is supremely fascinating. I particularly like the chapter about the culture that takes care of their mummified loved ones. They clean the space, dress them in new clothes, and even sleep in the same space with them.

Good Mourning by Elizabeth Meyer - Good Mourning offers a behind-the-scenes look at a legendary funeral chapel on New York City’s Upper East Side—mixing big money, society drama, and the universal experience of grieving—told from the unique perspective of a fashionista turned funeral planner. - Amazon

Making an Exit: From the Magnificent to the Macabre - How We Dignify the Dead by Sarah Murray - Journalist Sarah Murray never gave much thought to what might ultimately happen to her remains―until her father died. Puzzled by the choices he made about the disposal of his "organic matter," she embarks on a series of journeys to discover how death is commemorated in different cultures. Her travels lead her to discover everything from a Czech chandelier of human bones and a weeping ceremony in Iran to a Philippine village where the casketed dead hang in caves. - Amazon

Mortuary Confidential: Undertakers Spill the Dirt by Kenneth McKenzie and Todd Harra - From rookie mistakes and runaway corpses to screaming dead men and unusual requests, a collection of stories by funeral directors.

Remember Me: A Lively Tour of the New American Way of Death by Lisa Takeuchi Cullen - An irreverent study of the rites, rituals, and business of death in America examines an undertakers' convention in Nashville, unconventional containers for corpses, and a company that transforms human remains into diamonds.

Stiff: the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach - This is one I can personally recommend (though really all of her books are fun and interesting). If you've ever wondered what happens to a body that's donated to science, this book explores that. Whether it's the Body Farm in TN, crash test dummies, Body Worlds and plastination, or looking into new technology and ways to dispose of mortal remains, this book is engrossing (and let's be honest - kinda gross) from start to finish.

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty - Every day, funeral director Caitlin Doughty receives dozens of questions about death. What would happen to an astronaut's body if it were pushed out of a space shuttle? Do people poop when they die? Can Grandma have a Viking funeral? Doughty's new book blends her scientific understanding of the body and the intriguing history behind common misconceptions about corpses to offer factual, hilarious, and candid answers to thirty-five urgent questions posed by her youngest fans. I just started reading this one and it is *fantastic*. Yes, these are questions from children, but adults totally have these questions too. What's great though is this is definitely one you could share with older kids, since it is aimed at answering their questions.

The Work of the Dead; a Cultural History of Mortal Remains by Thomas W. Laqueur - No culture has been indifferent to mortal remains. Even in our supposedly disenchanted scientific age, the dead body still matters―for individuals, communities, and nations. A remarkably ambitious history, The Work of the Dead offers a compelling and richly detailed account of how and why the living have cared for the dead, from antiquity to the twentieth century.

Originally Posted by StephanieT on July 21, 2020