After listening to this podcast I have a lot of mixed emotions. I just find it horrifying that people are not only able to be around dead bodies but actually do things to them like burning them. Caitlin Doughty brought up so many points that I found so interesting like how she referred to the process of cremation to be “romantic” and how she said that when the bodies are burning you get covered in ashes and they end up in places where you never thought “dust” could ever end up in. I also find it interesting that she said that you just get used to it and don’t really think about it as a body but as an occupational hazard. I personally don’t think that I could ever wrap my head around doing this as a profession because I think that it would just do a great deal on my mental health. Doughty said that a lot of people that go into this profession also feel the same way and quit very early on, but for her, she just does a lot of self-care like she sees a therapist, goes to yoga and does a lot of reading and writing. I think just the hardest part for me is the thought of cremation because all I have known from past experience with family and friends passing away is a burial. Something else that she mentioned was that rather than having a burial or doing cremation you should take care of the body at home. Doughty thinks that you should watch the body in your home for 1-2 days and see the life leave their body and them get cold to really connect with them and get the proper amount of grieving and also just to recognize that death is real.
