Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory

Cremation does not turn bones into ash. After a body is cremated, the bones are raked out of the cremation retort and placed into a Cremulator, a machine that uses blades or ball bearings to pulverize the bones into a fine dust. Once crushed, the bone dust is recombined with the ash from the rest of the remains before being bagged and placed in an urn. Doughty notes that some bones, such as those of infants, must be ground by hand.

A death worker is any individual who works in the death industry. That includes funeral directors or morticians, embalmers, crematory operators, removal technicians, arrangement counselors, and more. It can also include individuals working in the alternative death industry, like death doulas. Death doulas are people who provide various services to guide individuals and their families through end-of-life and funeral care.

Embalming is the practice of preserving a dead body to slow decomposition. In contemporary North America, embalming usually involves draining all bodily fluids and replacing them with a mixture of alcohol and formaldehyde. The practice rose to prominence in America during the Civil War, when corpses decomposed quickly on battlefields before they could be returned to their families. There is a widespread belief, even in the funeral industry, that embalming is necessary to prevent the spread of disease. In fact, most dead bodies do not pose a health risk to living people. Embalming fluid, on the other hand, is a known carcinogen that poses a risk to embalmers and to the environment.

Caitlin Doughty differentiates between what she considers a “good death” and a “bad death.” A bad death is one that is sudden, painful, violent, or for which a person and their loved ones are unprepared. A good death, while not always attainable, is one of the goals of the death acceptance movement. In Doughty’s view, a good death is one for which she is prepared, mentally lucid, and accepting, and one where her loved ones can carry out her wishes for her body. She encourages readers to consider what a good death would mean for them.

Natural burial is one of the alternatives to cremation or embalming. It is the option Doughty wants for herself after she dies. In a natural burial, the body is not embalmed. It may be washed by death workers or by family members. The body is wrapped in a biodegradable shroud, placed in a cardboard coffin, or placed directly into the ground without coverings. Natural burial laws vary by state and by country, but some cemeteries offer them, and some places allow people to perform natural burials on their own property.