Neighbor News
Memoirs & Coffee Book Group to Discuss "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes"
The author argues that our fear of dying warps our culture and society, and she calls for better ways of dealing with death (and our dead).
The next meeting of Bernardsville Public Library’s book discussion group, Memoirs and Coffee, will be held on Tuesday, June 23 at 10:30 am in the library’s Community Room. Manager Pat Kennedy-Grant will lead the discussion of “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and Other Lessons from the Crematory” (2014) by Caitlin Doughty. [The author will not be present.]
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. Thrown into a profession of gallows humor and vivid characters (both living and very dead), Doughty learned to navigate the secretive culture of those who care for the deceased. Honest and heartfelt, self-deprecating and ironic, Doughty’s engaging style makes this otherwise taboo topic both approachable and engrossing. Now a licensed mortician with an alternative funeral practice, Doughty argues that our fear of dying warps our culture and society, and she calls for better ways of dealing with death (and our dead).
There is no charge and no registration is needed to join the discussion. Call the library at 766-0118 for more information.
