Caitlin Doughty

Caitlin Doughty is an American mortician, author, and public speaker, best known for her New York Times best-selling book, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: and Other Lessons from the Crematory. Through her work, she has become an important voice in the contemporary death movement, challenging the way we’ve forgotten our mortality and offering an alternative to the Western funeral industry.

Born and raised in Hawaii, Doughty obtained her bachelor’s degree in medieval studies from the University of Chicago in 2004. After a period of travel, she worked as a crematory operator in Oakland and became an apprentice at a funeral home, eventually obtaining her mortuary science degree. With her newfound expertise, she decided to take a stand against the funeral industry and its conventional and often expensive practices.

In 2011, Doughty launched the YouTube series, Ask a Mortician. Hosted on her YouTube channel, “Order of the Good Death,” her witty tone and informative videos quickly gained traction and a strong online following. Her videos have addressed a wide range of topics related to death and grief, from the intricacies of body donation to the best coffins for green burials.

In 2013, Doughty released her first book, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: and Other Lessons from the Crematory. This New York Times best-seller is a personal and multifaceted exploration of the way we handle death and bereavement in the modern era. Drawing on her experiences as a crematory operator, Doughty offers readers a window into the forgotten funeral industry by directly addressing the intense, uncomfortable, and often underappreciated aspects of death. In a bold move, she also proposes alternatives to conventional burial that are much more affordable, accessible, and mindful of the environment.

Doughty's progressive nature and active challenge to the status quo within the death care industry earned her a prominent place in the contemporary death movement. She has appeared as a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and was named a 2016 TED Fellow for her advocacy of death acceptance and reform within the death industry. In 2020, she opened the Museum of Death, located in Los Angeles.

Doughty's unflinching examination of the delicate subject of death, along with her public activism, has helped to create a more open discourse around death and dying. She has renewed the public's interest in not only our mortality, but also in more practical solutions to the way we handle the death of our loved ones. Through her work, Doughty has pushed for more mindful and accessible approaches to death care that honor the dignity and individuality of the deceased.

The inspiration and hard work of Caitlin Doughty have been groundbreaking and inspirational, giving new voices to those who have been marginalized or ignored by the death industry. She continues to offer her expertise on the modern death movement, propelling us towards the much-needed rethinking of how we treat death and the dead.