CHECK OUT: Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?

Dear Friends,

I would like to introduce you to a not-so-ordinary book about death called Will my Cat Eat my Eyeballs? The book is a collection of 35 questions dealing with corpses and their possible, likely or unlikely fate. The author, Caitlin Doughty, is a mortician, funeral owner, podcaster and videographer who puts death in the main focus of all she does. Her research and presentation of facts is historically fact checked, medically accurate and presented blunt, honest, funny and engaging. The book answers children’s wonderfully direct questions about death. Doughty deals with the questions by drawing from her knowledge and experience as well as taking science, biology and logic into account.

The book is listed as “Family Reads;” however, I suggest that the audience addressed is 12+ as some of her answers and personal comments are based on criminal cases, morbid thoughts and the dark side of life.

Generally, the book teaches you in an unconventional way about dying and death, about what may happen to your corpse after you die, about decompensation and other post-mortem stages and about whether or not humans become tasty meals to carnivores. Additionally, the reader is introduced to some cultural lessons and ancient death rituals.

One of my favourite parts in the book is when she answers the question about what will happen if you die on a plane. The question gets answered with much sarcasm and a realistic assessment of the likelihoods of possibilities. I wonder if I will ever be sitting beside a dead person on a plane for hours until we reach our destination?

This book is worth reading as it approaches death and dying in a new but respectful way and immensely adds to death literacy if you don’t happen to be a mortician, a cremator or funeral director.

---

Anne Stewart is an HHA volunteer and death doula in the Halton/Mississauga Region. You can learn more about Anne at www.HoldingSpaceHalton.ca.