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Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death
Goodreads Choice Award
Winner for Readers' Favorite Science & Technology (2019)Every day, funeral director Caitlin Doughty receives dozens of questions about death. The best questions come from kids: 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?
In Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, Doughty blends her mortician’s knowledge and the intriguing history behind common misconceptions about corpses to offer factual, hilarious, and candid answers to thirty-five questions. In her inimitable voice, Doughty details the lore and science of what happens to, and inside, our bodies after we die. Why do corpses groan? What causes bodies to turn colors during decomposition? And why do hair and nails appear longer after death? Readers will learn the best soil for mummifying, whether you can preserve your best friend’s skull as a keepsake, and what happens when you die on a plane. Beautifully illustrated by Dianné Ruz, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? shows us that death is science and art, and only by asking questions can we begin to embrace it.
In Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, Doughty blends her mortician’s knowledge and the intriguing history behind common misconceptions about corpses to offer factual, hilarious, and candid answers to thirty-five questions. In her inimitable voice, Doughty details the lore and science of what happens to, and inside, our bodies after we die. Why do corpses groan? What causes bodies to turn colors during decomposition? And why do hair and nails appear longer after death? Readers will learn the best soil for mummifying, whether you can preserve your best friend’s skull as a keepsake, and what happens when you die on a plane. Beautifully illustrated by Dianné Ruz, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? shows us that death is science and art, and only by asking questions can we begin to embrace it.
200 pages, Hardcover
First published September 10, 2019
About the author
Caitlin Doughty
8 books8,041 followersCaitlin Doughty is a mortician and the author of Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? as well as the New York Times best-selling books Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and From Here to Eternity. She is the creator of the “Ask a Mortician” web series and founder of The Order of the Good Death. She lives in Los Angeles, where she owns and runs a funeral home.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 6,514 reviews
Shelved as 'reviews-of-books-i-didnt-read'
January 30, 2020Update :
Greatly disturbed by this question, I had a talk with my cats today. I said look, it's about my eyeballs.
They said - Oh, so you know about the eyeball thing. Who told you?
I said It's in this book. Everyone knows now.
They said This is gonna be bad for cats.
I said Look, I like you, I'm a fair person, I want to make a deal. If I predecease you, you can have the eyeballs, I'll bequeath them. But no eating them off my head. They'll be removed by a proper eye doctor in a dignified manner, okay? Plus - if you predecease me, I get your fur for gloves.
They conferred for a while and then we shook on it. I feel a lot better now.
*****************
This is a question I have never asked myself before. So now I need this book to find out the answer.
But wait - I have two cats. If I keel over and expire on the spot one day at home, will they take one eyeball each? Or, as usually happens when I dish up food at the same time, will Hatter scoff his eyeball really quick and then shoulder Miranda out of the way as she is nibbling delicately on her eyeball? And I will not be there to tell him off for his unseemly manners. Well, I will be there, of course, but I won't be functional. Except as lunch.
So - when they look at me, as they often do, are they just eyeing up the eyeballs? Is that all I am to them? So many questions.
Greatly disturbed by this question, I had a talk with my cats today. I said look, it's about my eyeballs.
They said - Oh, so you know about the eyeball thing. Who told you?
I said It's in this book. Everyone knows now.
They said This is gonna be bad for cats.
I said Look, I like you, I'm a fair person, I want to make a deal. If I predecease you, you can have the eyeballs, I'll bequeath them. But no eating them off my head. They'll be removed by a proper eye doctor in a dignified manner, okay? Plus - if you predecease me, I get your fur for gloves.
They conferred for a while and then we shook on it. I feel a lot better now.
*****************
This is a question I have never asked myself before. So now I need this book to find out the answer.
But wait - I have two cats. If I keel over and expire on the spot one day at home, will they take one eyeball each? Or, as usually happens when I dish up food at the same time, will Hatter scoff his eyeball really quick and then shoulder Miranda out of the way as she is nibbling delicately on her eyeball? And I will not be there to tell him off for his unseemly manners. Well, I will be there, of course, but I won't be functional. Except as lunch.
So - when they look at me, as they often do, are they just eyeing up the eyeballs? Is that all I am to them? So many questions.
November 13, 2020
Interesting non-fiction that answers questions from kids all about death.
The author narrates the audiobook which was nice but I didn't know it was for kids... my bad!
The author narrates the audiobook which was nice but I didn't know it was for kids... my bad!
September 28, 2019
Instapot Corpse Disposal: Recipe for cooking a corpse
An alternative to cremation (not a tasty dish for cannibals).
First, put the body into a very large instapot (euphemistically called a 'pressurised stainless steel cremation chamber'. cover with water and alkali. Heat to 350°F and raise the pressure. 'Cook' for 4 to 6 hours. Finish by draining off the greenish-brownish liquid of amino acids, peptides, sugars and salts, (don't drink this soup, it's not edible and not because it has too much sugar and salt) what you have left are soft bones ready for hand-crushing.
This is a more refined method than one of the traditional ways murderers attempt to cover up their crime - put the body in a barrel with a lot of lye.
I'm still going for burial at sea.
The book is based on questions guaranteed to have been genuinely put by children. Not little kindergarteners though, more like teenagers who (like us) read books and think up sensible questions. It's very readable, very short, very informative and very enjoyable. Four 'verys', four stars.
An alternative to cremation (not a tasty dish for cannibals).
First, put the body into a very large instapot (euphemistically called a 'pressurised stainless steel cremation chamber'. cover with water and alkali. Heat to 350°F and raise the pressure. 'Cook' for 4 to 6 hours. Finish by draining off the greenish-brownish liquid of amino acids, peptides, sugars and salts, (don't drink this soup, it's not edible and not because it has too much sugar and salt) what you have left are soft bones ready for hand-crushing.
This is a more refined method than one of the traditional ways murderers attempt to cover up their crime - put the body in a barrel with a lot of lye.
I'm still going for burial at sea.
The book is based on questions guaranteed to have been genuinely put by children. Not little kindergarteners though, more like teenagers who (like us) read books and think up sensible questions. It's very readable, very short, very informative and very enjoyable. Four 'verys', four stars.
August 23, 2022
3,5/5
Bardzo podoba mi się potraktowanie tematu śmierci w tak „życiowy” sposób.
Bardzo podoba mi się potraktowanie tematu śmierci w tak „życiowy” sposób.
November 23, 2019
Death. The grim reaper. The big nothing. The great leveler. And so on, or no, precisely not, or still? Puh, getting philosophical in here, so put out all your thoughts...
Come, little kitty cat, tasty eyeballs are served. No matter if it is a dog, cat, weasel, reptile (I am not sure regarding their eating behavior), if time and hunger are combined and carrion acceptable for the animal, well... At least one lives on in his pet, except it gets a food poisoning from rotten flesh which would be an unfunny, black comedy trope, but owner and pet would be at least united in death. Who thinks this is already too heavy probably shouldn´t read this book.
I like horror, humor and science and this book has everything in it. The wit often comes just from the constellations of topics, from questions an adult wouldn´t dare to ask. So the philosophy that is still in kids and gets lost more and more with the ages, jumps from each side because the questions may seem trivial, but have hidden depths. And children aren´t as constrained, onesided, indoctrinated and socially normed as adults so that they still have an open and healthy attitude towards the topic.
Out of the context of this book, but it would make an interesting question for the author: In space flight, the question of how to deal with the deceased, if there are still any, will be a topic too. All the ingredients might be too precious to waste them and many of the extraction procedures to get as much out of it as possible might not work well without gravity or lesser gravity than on earth, may take to long, be too energy expensive or just not economic.
The book is a great example of how the knowledge of an expert can be broken down to interesting, short, funny, intelligent and catchy pieces and how much death can show the living how do be thankful for each day, enjoy each moment, be kind to each other, yada yada yada, boring! Carpe diemality.
The endeavor and motivation of the author to talk about death openly is very important because it weakens faith and makes people realize how short and fragile life is and to probably awaken more awareness and mindfulness. As already said, kids are the perfect breeding ground for healthy, normal thinking and talking about death and in this case, the old saying "Give them to us when they are still young and they belong us forever" gets a positive connotation. Instead of NIMBY https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NIMBY, they ask why not the whole family is buried there.
Instead, death has become a taboo, especially in Western society, where it is avoided to speak about it or to change something about how society has been instrumentalized and normed in any way around a topic that anyone should be interested in, because, you know...
A wiki walk can be as refreshing to the mind as a walk through nature in this completely overrated real-life outside books:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funeral
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burial
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortuar...
Come, little kitty cat, tasty eyeballs are served. No matter if it is a dog, cat, weasel, reptile (I am not sure regarding their eating behavior), if time and hunger are combined and carrion acceptable for the animal, well... At least one lives on in his pet, except it gets a food poisoning from rotten flesh which would be an unfunny, black comedy trope, but owner and pet would be at least united in death. Who thinks this is already too heavy probably shouldn´t read this book.
I like horror, humor and science and this book has everything in it. The wit often comes just from the constellations of topics, from questions an adult wouldn´t dare to ask. So the philosophy that is still in kids and gets lost more and more with the ages, jumps from each side because the questions may seem trivial, but have hidden depths. And children aren´t as constrained, onesided, indoctrinated and socially normed as adults so that they still have an open and healthy attitude towards the topic.
Out of the context of this book, but it would make an interesting question for the author: In space flight, the question of how to deal with the deceased, if there are still any, will be a topic too. All the ingredients might be too precious to waste them and many of the extraction procedures to get as much out of it as possible might not work well without gravity or lesser gravity than on earth, may take to long, be too energy expensive or just not economic.
The book is a great example of how the knowledge of an expert can be broken down to interesting, short, funny, intelligent and catchy pieces and how much death can show the living how do be thankful for each day, enjoy each moment, be kind to each other, yada yada yada, boring! Carpe diemality.
The endeavor and motivation of the author to talk about death openly is very important because it weakens faith and makes people realize how short and fragile life is and to probably awaken more awareness and mindfulness. As already said, kids are the perfect breeding ground for healthy, normal thinking and talking about death and in this case, the old saying "Give them to us when they are still young and they belong us forever" gets a positive connotation. Instead of NIMBY https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NIMBY, they ask why not the whole family is buried there.
Instead, death has become a taboo, especially in Western society, where it is avoided to speak about it or to change something about how society has been instrumentalized and normed in any way around a topic that anyone should be interested in, because, you know...
A wiki walk can be as refreshing to the mind as a walk through nature in this completely overrated real-life outside books:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funeral
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burial
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortuar...
September 24, 2024
The book covers many questions that people might have about death and dying in an entertaining and informative way.
Some of the topics include what happens to bodies after death, the science of decomposition, and different types of funeral practices.
Through the author's humorous and engaging writing style, we can also learn about death in a way that is approachable and easy to understand.
The book can be especially helpful for parents or caregivers who are looking for ways to talk to children about death and dying in a way that is not overly scary or intimidating.
I suggest everyone read this book so that we can learn a lot about death, dying, and the funeral industry.
Some of the topics include what happens to bodies after death, the science of decomposition, and different types of funeral practices.
Through the author's humorous and engaging writing style, we can also learn about death in a way that is approachable and easy to understand.
The book can be especially helpful for parents or caregivers who are looking for ways to talk to children about death and dying in a way that is not overly scary or intimidating.
I suggest everyone read this book so that we can learn a lot about death, dying, and the funeral industry.
July 12, 2022
“When I die, will my cat eat my eyeballs?”
Best selling author and mortician Caitlin Doughty answers real questions from children about death, dead bodies, and decomposition.
This was lots of fun to read! The author has a way of making you a little less fearful of death with her humor, explanations, and positive outlook. The book contains questions from children such as: When I die, will my cat eat my eyeballs? Can I keep my parents' skulls after they die? Can we give Grandma a Viking Funeral? Why do we turn funny colours when we die? Why don't animals dig up graves? If I died making a stupid face, would it be stuck like that forever? What would happen if you died on a plane? Can someone donate blood after they die? and lots more!
Caitlin Doughty's engaging and hilarious writing removes the stigma often associated with death, inviting us to think about the unavoidable end of life we will all have to face one day. Each chapter thoroughly answers the questions we're all dying to know with fascinating responses. I also really enjoyed the artwork by Dianné Ruz at the beginning of every chapter.
I highly recommend.
Best selling author and mortician Caitlin Doughty answers real questions from children about death, dead bodies, and decomposition.
This was lots of fun to read! The author has a way of making you a little less fearful of death with her humor, explanations, and positive outlook. The book contains questions from children such as: When I die, will my cat eat my eyeballs? Can I keep my parents' skulls after they die? Can we give Grandma a Viking Funeral? Why do we turn funny colours when we die? Why don't animals dig up graves? If I died making a stupid face, would it be stuck like that forever? What would happen if you died on a plane? Can someone donate blood after they die? and lots more!
Caitlin Doughty's engaging and hilarious writing removes the stigma often associated with death, inviting us to think about the unavoidable end of life we will all have to face one day. Each chapter thoroughly answers the questions we're all dying to know with fascinating responses. I also really enjoyed the artwork by Dianné Ruz at the beginning of every chapter.
I highly recommend.
September 16, 2020
Bardzo lekka, bardzo ciekawa i dobrze napisana. Jeśli interesuje was temat pogrzebów, śmierci i ciekawostek z tym związanych - zdecydowanie bardzo polecam! No i są rysunki, które dodają świetego klimatu 🤷🏼♀️✌🏻
November 6, 2019
Those who have read Caitlin Doughty's previous books know her talent for taking the usually bleak and depressing subject of death and turning it into something entertaining. A bit on the gross side perhaps, but entertaining nonetheless.
In Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, Ms. Doughty answers several questions about death, dying, and dead bodies asked of her by children. They are things that many of you may have wondered too, at least when you were children and before you learned that death is a taboo subject and also something to be avoided at all costs. And yet, it cannot be avoided. At any cost. Unless you know something every single one of your fellow human beings don't know, you are going to eventually end up ashes or worm food or pumped full of embalming fluid. You are not going to get to enjoy your precious body for all eternity, it just doesn't work like that. No matter who you are or how rich you might be, no amount of money will buy you eternal life. Perhaps at some point in the future scientists will figure out how to upload our memories into machines and thus grant us immortality, but as of now, sorry, no can do. You're gonna croak.
I'm sorry to be the bearer of such bad news, but really, it's always better to face the facts. So now that you know the truth of your limited existence, you might be wondering what exactly will happen to your body when it's no longer living and breathing and eating and shitting. Some questions you might have that Ms. Doughty thoughtfully answers are:
•Why do we turn colours when we die?
•Will my hair and nails keep growing in the coffin?
•If I die making a funny face, will it be stuck like that forever?
•What will I smell like and how long until I start stinking?
•Can I have my body preserved in amber like a prehistoric insect?
•What would happen if I swallow a bag of popcorn before I die and am cremated?
And of course, the eponymous question that we're all wondering:
•Will my cat indeed eat my eyeballs???
The answer is, he might. (It's not a spoiler because it's answered in the first chapter.) In case you're thinking it would then be better to adopt a dog rather than take the chance this adorable kitten might grow up to be an eye-munching connoisseur of human flesh.... better think again because that adorable puppy is gonna do the same if left alone without food for too long. Sorry folks, but they gotta eat. If you don't want to become pet food, please arrange to have someone find your body soon after you die -- or always leave out a lifetime supply of food for your furry babies. However, if you do want to become pet food, well..... I think it would be kinder to find someone willing to break the law who will dump your body at sea rather than have your beloved pet locked up with your decomposing body and little else.
Please don't do that to Fluffy or Fido.
(Note: For the answers to the rest of the questions and more, you'll need to pick up this fun, funny, and interesting book for yourself. You won't be disappointed!
February 7, 2020
Can learning about death be fun? Yes! Becoming a huge fan of this author, like her YouTube channel as well.
November 26, 2019
“He won’t be diving straight for the human flesh. But a cat has got to eat, and you are the person who feeds him. This is the cat-human compact. Death doesn’t free you from performing your contractual obligations.”
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? - Big Questions From Tiny Mortals About Death, written by mortician Caitlin Doughty, is the book to answer all those questions about death you've been too embarressed to ask.
In a Q & A format, Doughty answers questions about death she's been asked again and again by children, and both the questions and answers are hilarious! I mean, death in general is of course not very funny, but Doughty is witty and uses both humor as well as scientific facts to answer the burning questions we all have, like 'What would happen if you swallowed a bag of popcorn before you died and were cremated?' and 'Can I keep my parents' skulls after they die?'.
As a future corpse, this book made me feel just slightly better about my own inevitable end - and even if it doesn't do that for you, I'm sure it will make your future corpse laugh out loud.
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? - Big Questions From Tiny Mortals About Death, written by mortician Caitlin Doughty, is the book to answer all those questions about death you've been too embarressed to ask.
In a Q & A format, Doughty answers questions about death she's been asked again and again by children, and both the questions and answers are hilarious! I mean, death in general is of course not very funny, but Doughty is witty and uses both humor as well as scientific facts to answer the burning questions we all have, like 'What would happen if you swallowed a bag of popcorn before you died and were cremated?' and 'Can I keep my parents' skulls after they die?'.
As a future corpse, this book made me feel just slightly better about my own inevitable end - and even if it doesn't do that for you, I'm sure it will make your future corpse laugh out loud.
February 12, 2020
Yay! This was yet another enjoyable go-round with my favorite mortician!
Here Doughty dumbs it down a bit with a younger audience in mind, but not so dumb that adults can't get something out of her lessons too. Here are snappy answers to not-so-stupid questions, like Can We Give Grandma a Viking Funeral?, What If They Make a Mistake and Bury Me When I'm Just in a Coma?, and If I Died Making a Stupid Face, Would It Be Stuck Like That Forever?. She also tackles a few questions that I found rather disturbing, like Can I Keep My Parents' Skulls? Really? Other than my kid, what sort of a child thinks about that? Caitlin also lays waste to this internet meme:
Now you know - don't try this at home, kids!
Aside from the giggles I got from reading this book, there was the fun of seeing the looks on my coworkers' faces when they walked into the breakroom, and saw me reading this while shoving leftover Pad Thai into my mouth.
Here Doughty dumbs it down a bit with a younger audience in mind, but not so dumb that adults can't get something out of her lessons too. Here are snappy answers to not-so-stupid questions, like Can We Give Grandma a Viking Funeral?, What If They Make a Mistake and Bury Me When I'm Just in a Coma?, and If I Died Making a Stupid Face, Would It Be Stuck Like That Forever?. She also tackles a few questions that I found rather disturbing, like Can I Keep My Parents' Skulls? Really? Other than my kid, what sort of a child thinks about that? Caitlin also lays waste to this internet meme:
Now you know - don't try this at home, kids!
Aside from the giggles I got from reading this book, there was the fun of seeing the looks on my coworkers' faces when they walked into the breakroom, and saw me reading this while shoving leftover Pad Thai into my mouth.
September 27, 2020
fulfilling my 2020 goal to read (at least) one book each month that i bought in hardcover and put off reading long enough that it is now in paperback.
review to come!!
review to come!!
April 17, 2020
Caitlin, you're a national treasure, you're a great time, and you teach me and everyone who wants to know so much Stuff about being dead. I was late to the party that is "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes: And Other Lessons From the Crematory" and loved it so
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...?
I pre-ordered this one, but thank goodness I didn't read it right away because when I couldn't concentrate on much at all, Caitlin saved me. I wish I had her as a resource when I was a tiny mortal. I love how she addresses them with her signature straightforward honesty and humor, and never talks down to them. The questions are very good and I don't doubt young minds honed on Harry Potter can handle them and indeed have pondered them.
There will be a few spoilers here but fact is the joys of this book are not only in the answers but in her explanations. The woman is a trained, licensed mortician who owns her own mortuary, has a degree in writing, could be a stand-up comedian and has a marvelous vlog which has taught me so much, lately about covid, bodies and burials -- and always revelations, my favorite being the one about Victorian death photos (in which I take an interest). Did I mention she started a worldwide charity, The Order of the Good Death, dedicated to making death and death practices more natural, ripping off the shroud of secrecy many morticians maintain and giving people greater control over their own corpses.
So, a taste of a great book about death and in case you're dying to know, cannibalism does come up. These are excerpts from her answers and as with every question in this book, the full answers are pages long and fact-and-fun filled with cool illustrations.
CAN WE GIVE GRANDMA A VIKING FUNERAL?
"Alas, fake fake fakety fake...Who knows how the rumors got started? The Vikings had elaborate cremations! They had boats! They just didn't have cremation boats!"
CAN I KEEP MY PARENTS' SKULLS AFTER THEY DIE?
"Tell you what's not going to work: marching on over to your local funeral home and saying 'Greetings! That's my mom's corpse over there. Could you just pop off her head and deflesh her skull? That would be great. Thanks!'"
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO AN ASTRONAUT BODY IN SPACE?
Well, that's complicated and depends on a lot of factors but I love her writing and this footnote, um, slayed me:
"In 2005, NASA collaborated with a small Swedish company called Promesa on a design prototype for a system that would process and contain space corpses. The prototype was called the Body Back ('I'm bringing body back, returning corpses but they're not intact').*
*Kids, this is a Justin Timberlake reference, you're fine not knowing who that is."
CAN EVERYBODY FIT IN A CASKET? WHAT IF THEY'RE REALLY TALL?
"Listen, sometimes people just don't fit inside a casket. And funeral directors have to do something about it. It's our job. The family is counting on us. If we are left with no other options, we will have to amputate their legs below the knees to make them fit.
"No! What the heck? We don't do that. Why does everyone think that's what funeral homes do to tall people?"
There can't be another human on earth who can load a body in The Cremulator with great respect and care, write genuinely informative and laugh-out-loud books about death, and vlog about such delightful (for me anyway) and at times scandalous subjects, all with compassion, humor and charm, and make them seem not at all morbid.
Wonderful book! As for your cat, not going to spoil it because I was asked not to. So I'll just say, cat lover that I am, I'd much rather picture my cat dining on my dead ____s than think about what your dog might do to you.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...?
I pre-ordered this one, but thank goodness I didn't read it right away because when I couldn't concentrate on much at all, Caitlin saved me. I wish I had her as a resource when I was a tiny mortal. I love how she addresses them with her signature straightforward honesty and humor, and never talks down to them. The questions are very good and I don't doubt young minds honed on Harry Potter can handle them and indeed have pondered them.
There will be a few spoilers here but fact is the joys of this book are not only in the answers but in her explanations. The woman is a trained, licensed mortician who owns her own mortuary, has a degree in writing, could be a stand-up comedian and has a marvelous vlog which has taught me so much, lately about covid, bodies and burials -- and always revelations, my favorite being the one about Victorian death photos (in which I take an interest). Did I mention she started a worldwide charity, The Order of the Good Death, dedicated to making death and death practices more natural, ripping off the shroud of secrecy many morticians maintain and giving people greater control over their own corpses.
So, a taste of a great book about death and in case you're dying to know, cannibalism does come up. These are excerpts from her answers and as with every question in this book, the full answers are pages long and fact-and-fun filled with cool illustrations.
CAN WE GIVE GRANDMA A VIKING FUNERAL?
"Alas, fake fake fakety fake...Who knows how the rumors got started? The Vikings had elaborate cremations! They had boats! They just didn't have cremation boats!"
CAN I KEEP MY PARENTS' SKULLS AFTER THEY DIE?
"Tell you what's not going to work: marching on over to your local funeral home and saying 'Greetings! That's my mom's corpse over there. Could you just pop off her head and deflesh her skull? That would be great. Thanks!'"
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO AN ASTRONAUT BODY IN SPACE?
Well, that's complicated and depends on a lot of factors but I love her writing and this footnote, um, slayed me:
"In 2005, NASA collaborated with a small Swedish company called Promesa on a design prototype for a system that would process and contain space corpses. The prototype was called the Body Back ('I'm bringing body back, returning corpses but they're not intact').*
*Kids, this is a Justin Timberlake reference, you're fine not knowing who that is."
CAN EVERYBODY FIT IN A CASKET? WHAT IF THEY'RE REALLY TALL?
"Listen, sometimes people just don't fit inside a casket. And funeral directors have to do something about it. It's our job. The family is counting on us. If we are left with no other options, we will have to amputate their legs below the knees to make them fit.
"No! What the heck? We don't do that. Why does everyone think that's what funeral homes do to tall people?"
There can't be another human on earth who can load a body in The Cremulator with great respect and care, write genuinely informative and laugh-out-loud books about death, and vlog about such delightful (for me anyway) and at times scandalous subjects, all with compassion, humor and charm, and make them seem not at all morbid.
Wonderful book! As for your cat, not going to spoil it because I was asked not to. So I'll just say, cat lover that I am, I'd much rather picture my cat dining on my dead ____s than think about what your dog might do to you.
Read
May 23, 2020[12/10/19] - Congratulations, Caitlin Doughty, on winning the 2019 Goodreads Choice Award for Science & Nonfiction!
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after giving it much thought, i think that yes... cats would eat eyeballs.
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i love this title. it makes me laugh
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after giving it much thought, i think that yes... cats would eat eyeballs.
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i love this title. it makes me laugh
| Goodreads | Blog | Pinterest | LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram
February 22, 2023
This is a non-fiction book about death, corpses, and funeral practices. I never read any of Caitlin Doughty books, but I hear her books are a short fun read. I have to agree this book was a short fun read. I found the information funny and nice to know. I did not find this book boring like I do with some non-fiction books. I think this author cover this hard to talk about topic so well, and she kept the science in it.
June 12, 2021
“Sometimes death can be violent, sudden, and unbearably sad. But it’s also reality, and reality doesn’t change just because you don’t like it.”
Presenting my first five-star non-fiction read of 2021! If you’ve ever wondered what would happen to an astronaut if they died in space, whether or not you can keep the skull of a loved one, why does the human body undergo all those wonderful colour changes after death, and most importantly… will your cat (or dog) eat your eyeballs when you die? Spoiler alert: if they are hungry enough, they just might!
I’m a little bit obsessed with the Spooky Queen of Death, Caitlin Doughty. I love that she is trying to change our attitudes towards and make us all less fearful of the great leveller, DEATH. The more you know about something, the less likely you are to be scared of it. Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? is technically targeted towards children or young adults, although I didn’t get that impression while reading. I found it to be incredibly informative, enlightening and funny. It’s the kind of book you read and can’t wait to share these tidbits of information with those around you. DID YOU KNOW.... and so forth.
Particular highlights for me were reading about the man who was almost buried alive - if it wasn’t for the pallbearers slipping on wet leaves and dropping the coffin, causing him to awaken and ask to be let out. I was positively engrossed learning about the “waiting mortuaries” in Germany that were employed years ago, where bodies were left to hang out in a heated room to check that they were definitely 100% dead, with an attendant who oversaw this room looking out for movement. Fascinating. Let’s not forget the other tests that they used to perform in ye olden days to confirm death – shoving needles under toenails… and actually CUTTING OFF FINGERS!!
Weirdly this has turned more into an account of the cool shit I learnt instead of a review. So I’ll wrap it up by saying that this book was amazing and hilarious, the illustrations were fantastic and I highly recommend it! (One last fact – did you know that the average male offers roughly 125,822 calories from protein and fat?!)
5 stars.
Presenting my first five-star non-fiction read of 2021! If you’ve ever wondered what would happen to an astronaut if they died in space, whether or not you can keep the skull of a loved one, why does the human body undergo all those wonderful colour changes after death, and most importantly… will your cat (or dog) eat your eyeballs when you die? Spoiler alert: if they are hungry enough, they just might!
I’m a little bit obsessed with the Spooky Queen of Death, Caitlin Doughty. I love that she is trying to change our attitudes towards and make us all less fearful of the great leveller, DEATH. The more you know about something, the less likely you are to be scared of it. Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? is technically targeted towards children or young adults, although I didn’t get that impression while reading. I found it to be incredibly informative, enlightening and funny. It’s the kind of book you read and can’t wait to share these tidbits of information with those around you. DID YOU KNOW.... and so forth.
Particular highlights for me were reading about the man who was almost buried alive - if it wasn’t for the pallbearers slipping on wet leaves and dropping the coffin, causing him to awaken and ask to be let out. I was positively engrossed learning about the “waiting mortuaries” in Germany that were employed years ago, where bodies were left to hang out in a heated room to check that they were definitely 100% dead, with an attendant who oversaw this room looking out for movement. Fascinating. Let’s not forget the other tests that they used to perform in ye olden days to confirm death – shoving needles under toenails… and actually CUTTING OFF FINGERS!!
Weirdly this has turned more into an account of the cool shit I learnt instead of a review. So I’ll wrap it up by saying that this book was amazing and hilarious, the illustrations were fantastic and I highly recommend it! (One last fact – did you know that the average male offers roughly 125,822 calories from protein and fat?!)
5 stars.
June 25, 2021
I don’t really know how or why this ended up on my TBR list. But it was, so I read it. 😑 I can honestly say, I learned some things about body decomposition. So, there’s that. 🤷🏼♀️
December 23, 2022
She only has four teeth left, so . . . .
September 16, 2021
Check out my review on Booktube...
AND the below review originally appeared on Open Letters Review.
Speaking to children about difficult topics is never easy, but the concerns are often comfortingly stereotypical. Perhaps the kids are old enough to discuss the birds and the bees or they’ve joined a sketchy peer group that demands a stern talk about drug or alcohol abuse. But sitting them down to talk about death? A talk centered on the most uncomfortable reality of all might end up being tougher than anything featured on the Dr. Phil show. That’s because, in the Western world, it may be the one concept that’s far more challenging for the adults in the room to face than it will be for the children. But, as demonstrated in Caitlin Doughty’s new nonfiction book, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death, that doesn’t mean that kids don’t have an interest in the topic. In fact, they have more than a few questions about it!
Caitlin Doughty, a trained mortician and funeral home director, has brought her death-acceptance message to multiple platforms. On her popular YouTube channel, Ask A Mortician, she takes on topics of historical death practices, funeral home insider secrets, and further mayhem within the macabre. She helps to host a podcast called Death in the Afternoon, on which she discusses similar death-centric topics with her co-hosts, two employees of the Order of the Good Death organization Doughty founded to promote healthy conversations about death. She has also written two previous books: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, a memoir of the birth of her interest in dark-leaning subjects through her beginning experiences working in the death industry and her most recent, From Here to Eternity, a mixture of travel writing and cultural observation as Doughty ventures internationally to witness and/or participate in various death rituals.
In her previous works, Doughty first aimed to help her readership understand her critical view on the Western attitude toward death and went on to show how her ideas are actually regressive rather than progressive. Death used to be much more of a reality in daily life and therefore much easier to discuss and confront. Though advances in healthcare have extended the human lifespan in incredible ways, our new distance from death has turned it into a cultural taboo. This has allowed the death industry to wrangle a firm chokehold on our wallets as our modern cultural instincts instruct us to take as many steps backward from the idea as possible. Though it may be agonizing to accept, death is indeed the final frontier for any human. Doughty thinks the best way to come to terms with this fact is to regularly discuss and seek understanding about death. In this new book, one can feel Doughy laying the groundwork for achieving her goal of a death-accepting Western culture by using the same guiding principle leaned on by marketing teams for every sugary cereal brand out there: start them young!
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? is structured in a question/answer format. The question are pulled from or inspired by real questions Doughty has been asked while on the road, the majority of which have been posed by the titular tiny mortals. In true kid fashion, they range from the silly (what would happen if you swallowed a bag of popcorn before you died and were cremated?), to the bizarre (can I preserve my dead body in amber like a prehistoric insect?), to the entirely reasonable (what would happen if you died on a plane?). Her answers pull from her own personal experience working with corpses, historical events, and myth-busting science facts. And while she sets out to deliver factual responses to these inquiries, it certainly doesn’t stop her from joining in on the fun. Her tone is surprisingly lighthearted and packed with all the dry wit readers have come to expect from Doughty:
Back in the Middle Ages, people used to be buried right outside (and even inside) churches - lots and lots of people. The human remains were supposed to have been moved away from one particular thirteenth-century English church back in the 1970s. But it turns out they weren’t all moved. We discovered this because badgers invaded and started digging dens and networks of tunnels down through the ancient bones, sending pelvises and femurs flying to the surface. Someone should stop those badgers! Whoops, they can’t. In England it’s illegal to kill those furry creatures, or even move their dens. Thanks to the Protection of Badgers Act (yes, that’s real!), we’re looking at six months in prison and huge fines even for attempted badger assault. Workers at the church have to pick up the bones, say a prayer, and bury them back in the ground. The lesson here is that even if you make it almost a thousand years in the grave, you never know when you’ll be uprooted by a lawless badger.
It’s precisely this willingness to lean into the jovial worldview of a child that makes this book so successful. While some will see her tone as irreverent, perhaps us stuffy adults need to, once again, relish in the ick factor and allow death to become as much as an everyday talking point as it is an everyday occurrence. In this way, children are the ideal ground zero for Doughty to promote her death-positivity agenda. Since the Western cultural thumb hasn’t yet flattened their interest in the topic and rolled it into cold, hard fear, kids are far more likely to ask some of these questions that initially sound kooky, but with further thought, slowly morph into totally rational curiosities. The type of unknowns that will nag at one’s psyche if left unanswered. Do bodies decaying underground affect the taste of the groundwater in the area? Read the question and you’ll be dying to know the answer.
AND the below review originally appeared on Open Letters Review.
Speaking to children about difficult topics is never easy, but the concerns are often comfortingly stereotypical. Perhaps the kids are old enough to discuss the birds and the bees or they’ve joined a sketchy peer group that demands a stern talk about drug or alcohol abuse. But sitting them down to talk about death? A talk centered on the most uncomfortable reality of all might end up being tougher than anything featured on the Dr. Phil show. That’s because, in the Western world, it may be the one concept that’s far more challenging for the adults in the room to face than it will be for the children. But, as demonstrated in Caitlin Doughty’s new nonfiction book, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death, that doesn’t mean that kids don’t have an interest in the topic. In fact, they have more than a few questions about it!
Caitlin Doughty, a trained mortician and funeral home director, has brought her death-acceptance message to multiple platforms. On her popular YouTube channel, Ask A Mortician, she takes on topics of historical death practices, funeral home insider secrets, and further mayhem within the macabre. She helps to host a podcast called Death in the Afternoon, on which she discusses similar death-centric topics with her co-hosts, two employees of the Order of the Good Death organization Doughty founded to promote healthy conversations about death. She has also written two previous books: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, a memoir of the birth of her interest in dark-leaning subjects through her beginning experiences working in the death industry and her most recent, From Here to Eternity, a mixture of travel writing and cultural observation as Doughty ventures internationally to witness and/or participate in various death rituals.
In her previous works, Doughty first aimed to help her readership understand her critical view on the Western attitude toward death and went on to show how her ideas are actually regressive rather than progressive. Death used to be much more of a reality in daily life and therefore much easier to discuss and confront. Though advances in healthcare have extended the human lifespan in incredible ways, our new distance from death has turned it into a cultural taboo. This has allowed the death industry to wrangle a firm chokehold on our wallets as our modern cultural instincts instruct us to take as many steps backward from the idea as possible. Though it may be agonizing to accept, death is indeed the final frontier for any human. Doughty thinks the best way to come to terms with this fact is to regularly discuss and seek understanding about death. In this new book, one can feel Doughy laying the groundwork for achieving her goal of a death-accepting Western culture by using the same guiding principle leaned on by marketing teams for every sugary cereal brand out there: start them young!
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? is structured in a question/answer format. The question are pulled from or inspired by real questions Doughty has been asked while on the road, the majority of which have been posed by the titular tiny mortals. In true kid fashion, they range from the silly (what would happen if you swallowed a bag of popcorn before you died and were cremated?), to the bizarre (can I preserve my dead body in amber like a prehistoric insect?), to the entirely reasonable (what would happen if you died on a plane?). Her answers pull from her own personal experience working with corpses, historical events, and myth-busting science facts. And while she sets out to deliver factual responses to these inquiries, it certainly doesn’t stop her from joining in on the fun. Her tone is surprisingly lighthearted and packed with all the dry wit readers have come to expect from Doughty:
Back in the Middle Ages, people used to be buried right outside (and even inside) churches - lots and lots of people. The human remains were supposed to have been moved away from one particular thirteenth-century English church back in the 1970s. But it turns out they weren’t all moved. We discovered this because badgers invaded and started digging dens and networks of tunnels down through the ancient bones, sending pelvises and femurs flying to the surface. Someone should stop those badgers! Whoops, they can’t. In England it’s illegal to kill those furry creatures, or even move their dens. Thanks to the Protection of Badgers Act (yes, that’s real!), we’re looking at six months in prison and huge fines even for attempted badger assault. Workers at the church have to pick up the bones, say a prayer, and bury them back in the ground. The lesson here is that even if you make it almost a thousand years in the grave, you never know when you’ll be uprooted by a lawless badger.
It’s precisely this willingness to lean into the jovial worldview of a child that makes this book so successful. While some will see her tone as irreverent, perhaps us stuffy adults need to, once again, relish in the ick factor and allow death to become as much as an everyday talking point as it is an everyday occurrence. In this way, children are the ideal ground zero for Doughty to promote her death-positivity agenda. Since the Western cultural thumb hasn’t yet flattened their interest in the topic and rolled it into cold, hard fear, kids are far more likely to ask some of these questions that initially sound kooky, but with further thought, slowly morph into totally rational curiosities. The type of unknowns that will nag at one’s psyche if left unanswered. Do bodies decaying underground affect the taste of the groundwater in the area? Read the question and you’ll be dying to know the answer.
July 4, 2023
my first non fiction book of the year! this was very fun and i learned so many facts about dead bodies i can’t wait to share them with people and creep them out 😁
January 28, 2020
وقتی بمیرم گربه ام چشمم رو می خوره؟
سر جنازه ی یک فضانورد در فضا چه بلایی میاد؟
می تونم بعد از مرگ والدینم جمجمه شون رو نگه دارم؟
اگر اشتباه کنند و وقتی من در کما هستم من رو دفن کنند چی میشه؟
ما مرغ های مرده رو می خوریم، چرا آدم های مرده رو نمی خوریم؟
میشه بوی جنازه رو برای من توصیف کنی؟
نه اینا سوالایی نیستند که خود نویسنده نوشته باشه، اینا رو بچه ها ازش پرسیدن چون یک متصدی کفن و دفنه. این کتاب مجموعه ای از سوال های عجیب و فیریکه که به قول خودش فناپذیرهای کوچک جرات می کنند راحت بپرسند
نوشتار جذابش یک جوریه که انگار نه انگار داره به همچین سوالایی جواب میده و به بامزه ترین شکل ممکن، کاملا علمی و کوتاه و با استفاده از کلی فکت تاریخی سوال ها رو جواب میده. خودم باورم نمی شد که انقدر چیزای جالب از این کتاب یاد گرفتم. این نویسنده یک زندگینامه هم داره که باهاش معروف شده و باید بخونمش
این کتاب برای مغزهای پرسوال و کمی سایکو و دارک یک خوراک کاملا مناسبه
98.11.6
سر جنازه ی یک فضانورد در فضا چه بلایی میاد؟
می تونم بعد از مرگ والدینم جمجمه شون رو نگه دارم؟
اگر اشتباه کنند و وقتی من در کما هستم من رو دفن کنند چی میشه؟
ما مرغ های مرده رو می خوریم، چرا آدم های مرده رو نمی خوریم؟
میشه بوی جنازه رو برای من توصیف کنی؟
نه اینا سوالایی نیستند که خود نویسنده نوشته باشه، اینا رو بچه ها ازش پرسیدن چون یک متصدی کفن و دفنه. این کتاب مجموعه ای از سوال های عجیب و فیریکه که به قول خودش فناپذیرهای کوچک جرات می کنند راحت بپرسند
نوشتار جذابش یک جوریه که انگار نه انگار داره به همچین سوالایی جواب میده و به بامزه ترین شکل ممکن، کاملا علمی و کوتاه و با استفاده از کلی فکت تاریخی سوال ها رو جواب میده. خودم باورم نمی شد که انقدر چیزای جالب از این کتاب یاد گرفتم. این نویسنده یک زندگینامه هم داره که باهاش معروف شده و باید بخونمش
این کتاب برای مغزهای پرسوال و کمی سایکو و دارک یک خوراک کاملا مناسبه
98.11.6
December 20, 2019
★★½ /5
This was a little bit too simplistic.
A few parts in the book I found really interesting, but in general, it was a little bit too oversimplified. It was written in question-answer format (I listened to an audiobook) so it was really easy to get through it, but the majority of questions were just a little bit too ridiculous, I think she could answer more difficult questions then book would be much more fascinating. I could definitely see that she really knows what she is talking about, so I think it would not be a problem for her to answer harder and more scientific questions.
This wasn't a bad book, I do not regret reading it and now kind of want to be a mortician now.
This was a little bit too simplistic.
A few parts in the book I found really interesting, but in general, it was a little bit too oversimplified. It was written in question-answer format (I listened to an audiobook) so it was really easy to get through it, but the majority of questions were just a little bit too ridiculous, I think she could answer more difficult questions then book would be much more fascinating. I could definitely see that she really knows what she is talking about, so I think it would not be a problem for her to answer harder and more scientific questions.
This wasn't a bad book, I do not regret reading it and now kind of want to be a mortician now.
March 20, 2022
It is what it says it is. Caitlin answers questions on death/ funerals/ burials from kids. Some of these questions I would want to ask too. I also really vibe with her humor. So quick informative and funny read. I listened to the audio narrated by the author.
November 13, 2019
Another excellent book by California mortician and death geek Doughty on her favorite subject, this one in the form of candid answers to frank questions she has fielded from youngsters over the years on the subject of death. Or, all the things the adults wanted to know but were too embarrassed to ask. A quick and engrossing read, and thus a good intro to the writer, but for my money her earlier more personal memoir Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: and Other Lessons from the Crematory has the most depth, and is the one of her three titles I'd most recommend. (All are good, if with different focuses.)
Reading these has had me thinking about my own late mother's death, and my own eventual one, in a less-fraught way, so, good.
Ta, L.
April 9, 2021
Caitlin Doughty rules. She takes a scary topic like death and makes it feel normal. Because it is normal. We’re all gonna die, y’all, and there’s nothing we can do about it.
While this book is influenced by questions from children, I wouldn’t say it’s a great book for kiddos to read unless they’re mature enough to think about decomposing bodies. But hey, maybe that’s the point. Normalize it!
Her answers to these questions (“If I die making a funny face, will it stay like that?” and “can I be buried with my dog?”) are smart and full of science and history. And humor. It’s a delight to read.
From the Best Books of 2019 at Book Riot.
While this book is influenced by questions from children, I wouldn’t say it’s a great book for kiddos to read unless they’re mature enough to think about decomposing bodies. But hey, maybe that’s the point. Normalize it!
Her answers to these questions (“If I die making a funny face, will it stay like that?” and “can I be buried with my dog?”) are smart and full of science and history. And humor. It’s a delight to read.
From the Best Books of 2019 at Book Riot.
July 13, 2020
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death is a collection of questions asked by children and their answers from Caitlin Doughty's book tours.
Until fairly recently, my wife entertained the possibility of being a funeral director. As a result, we've watched about 80% of Caitlin Doughty's Ask a Mortician videos on Youtube. I bought her all three of Caitlin's books and now I'm reading them as some sort of homework assignment.
In this volume, Caitlin addresses such topics as what happens to an astronaut's body in space, port-mortem pooping, do mummies stink, and can you be buried with a beloved pet, among other things. Caitlin addresses the topics with respect but also with her dark sense of humor, making for an entertaining read.
Any complaints? Nope. If you've been entertained by Caitlin's Ask a Mortician videos, you know what you're getting. This is class A death knowledge.
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs is a good source of info for kids and necromancers alike. Four out of five caskets.
Until fairly recently, my wife entertained the possibility of being a funeral director. As a result, we've watched about 80% of Caitlin Doughty's Ask a Mortician videos on Youtube. I bought her all three of Caitlin's books and now I'm reading them as some sort of homework assignment.
In this volume, Caitlin addresses such topics as what happens to an astronaut's body in space, port-mortem pooping, do mummies stink, and can you be buried with a beloved pet, among other things. Caitlin addresses the topics with respect but also with her dark sense of humor, making for an entertaining read.
Any complaints? Nope. If you've been entertained by Caitlin's Ask a Mortician videos, you know what you're getting. This is class A death knowledge.
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs is a good source of info for kids and necromancers alike. Four out of five caskets.
November 8, 2020
Informative and interesting, but perhaps intended for a slightly younger audience than myself.
February 11, 2024
***SPOILERS HIDDEN***
“Tiny mortals” may have posed the questions, but Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? is educational for readers of all ages. Author Caitlin Doughty, with her death-themed books and YouTube channel, is popular-culture’s enthusiastic face of mortuary science. The field is no doubt grateful for her. Doughty knows most people don’t want to think about death and dead bodies and that many unfairly regard morticians as odd, even creepy. Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? has two intentions: to ease people’s fear and discomfort and, through Doughty’s everywoman personality, to eliminate stigma surrounding morticians. Far from creepy, she’s someone readers might want as a friend.
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? is structured in a question-and-answer format of thirty-four questions. As the title indicates, many questions skew creatively and humorously strange, but although Doughty’s writing style is simple and funny, most of the content will probably interest adults more than it will children. She candidly answered questions that run the gamut from those only a kid would ask (“If I died making a stupid face, would it be stuck like that forever?” Answer: ) to questions adults might ask (“If someone is trying to sell a house, do they have to tell the buyer someone died there?” Answer: ).
Doughty also talked a fair amount about cremation, a process hazardous to the environment, as is traditional embalming and burial, but she’s not enthusiastic about either of these. She supports green burial practices. I was already familiar with, and interested in, the green option of mushroom death suits, but for whatever reason, Doughty doesn’t talk about these. She mentioned another green method instead, one I was unfamiliar with and that’s an excellent alternative to those who find the idea of mushrooms consuming their corpse unsettling: Aquamation.
Doughty didn’t promote green practices, however, and she should have. Pressing readers into questioning why we embalm may have taken this quirky book into too philosophical a territory, yet it could have convinced readers to embrace green options. Humans are scared of, and disgusted by, decomposition—of themselves and of those they love, hence the practice of embalming. The feelings are natural and understandable, but feelings that, in the name of a healthier environment, need to be overcome.
Having read Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and Never Suck A Dead Man's Hand: Curious Adventures of a CSI, I already knew the answers to many questions in Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, but Doughty covered much more, and I was pleased to get answers to some I’d wondered about for a while (“What happens when a cemetery is full of bodies and you can’t add any more?”; “What happens when you want to bury someone but the ground is too frozen?”). For curious (and steel-stomached) readers who don’t want to read long, involved books on death and corpses, it’s a to-the-point option that’s also, in defiance of its morbid topic, upbeat.
“Tiny mortals” may have posed the questions, but Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? is educational for readers of all ages. Author Caitlin Doughty, with her death-themed books and YouTube channel, is popular-culture’s enthusiastic face of mortuary science. The field is no doubt grateful for her. Doughty knows most people don’t want to think about death and dead bodies and that many unfairly regard morticians as odd, even creepy. Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? has two intentions: to ease people’s fear and discomfort and, through Doughty’s everywoman personality, to eliminate stigma surrounding morticians. Far from creepy, she’s someone readers might want as a friend.
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? is structured in a question-and-answer format of thirty-four questions. As the title indicates, many questions skew creatively and humorously strange, but although Doughty’s writing style is simple and funny, most of the content will probably interest adults more than it will children. She candidly answered questions that run the gamut from those only a kid would ask (“If I died making a stupid face, would it be stuck like that forever?” Answer: ) to questions adults might ask (“If someone is trying to sell a house, do they have to tell the buyer someone died there?” Answer: ).
Doughty also talked a fair amount about cremation, a process hazardous to the environment, as is traditional embalming and burial, but she’s not enthusiastic about either of these. She supports green burial practices. I was already familiar with, and interested in, the green option of mushroom death suits, but for whatever reason, Doughty doesn’t talk about these. She mentioned another green method instead, one I was unfamiliar with and that’s an excellent alternative to those who find the idea of mushrooms consuming their corpse unsettling: Aquamation.
Doughty didn’t promote green practices, however, and she should have. Pressing readers into questioning why we embalm may have taken this quirky book into too philosophical a territory, yet it could have convinced readers to embrace green options. Humans are scared of, and disgusted by, decomposition—of themselves and of those they love, hence the practice of embalming. The feelings are natural and understandable, but feelings that, in the name of a healthier environment, need to be overcome.
Having read Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and Never Suck A Dead Man's Hand: Curious Adventures of a CSI, I already knew the answers to many questions in Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, but Doughty covered much more, and I was pleased to get answers to some I’d wondered about for a while (“What happens when a cemetery is full of bodies and you can’t add any more?”; “What happens when you want to bury someone but the ground is too frozen?”). For curious (and steel-stomached) readers who don’t want to read long, involved books on death and corpses, it’s a to-the-point option that’s also, in defiance of its morbid topic, upbeat.
April 3, 2020
Wow, this was absolutely magnificent. It was my first Caitlin Doughty read, but it certainly won't be my last. First of all, I love Caitlin's sense of humor so much, and it conveys just as well through text as it does in her videos. I know it's a book about death, but I found myself laughing out loud so many times and bugging my spouse endlessly with quotes from this book.
That said, it's also incredibly informative! She doesn't pull any punches but isn't overly descriptive, either, so even if you're a bit queasy, I bet anyone could enjoy this. I also think it would be great for readers from elementary school up to any age, as it definitely doesn't read like a kids' book, but is very kid-friendly at the same time. I'd recommend this book to literally anyone and everyone interested in learning more about what happens to our bodies after we die, and I can't wait to pick up another of her books.
That said, it's also incredibly informative! She doesn't pull any punches but isn't overly descriptive, either, so even if you're a bit queasy, I bet anyone could enjoy this. I also think it would be great for readers from elementary school up to any age, as it definitely doesn't read like a kids' book, but is very kid-friendly at the same time. I'd recommend this book to literally anyone and everyone interested in learning more about what happens to our bodies after we die, and I can't wait to pick up another of her books.
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