It’s a legitimate question for pet owners – will my cat or dog eat my body if I die in the house? Or, what actually happens when you’re cremated? Maybe you’re curious why bodies are buried six feet deep? Well, Caitlin Doughty – she of Ask a Mortician fame – has answers for you in this funny and informative book. The series of essays are all answering questions posed to her by children who, for those who don’t know, have a morbid streak a mile wide and lots of questions about death and dead bodies. The result is delightful, if occasionally gross.
Caitlin gives each question a thoughtful and well-researched answer. She answers why bodies are buried deep, what happens when a cemetery runs out of space, what would happen were an astronaut to die in space, and the list goes on. When it comes to the title question, cats are much more likely to eat your lips before they eat your eyeballs. Those are, after all, easier to access and far tastier.
This isn’t Caitlin’s first book. Her debut, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, is part memoir, part introduction to the funeral industry, and part advocacy for “good death”, Caitlin’s life work. Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs is a great follow-up that gets nitty gritty with detailed answers to the sometimes morbid questions. There were only a few segments that I found truly gross, and the rest was just plain interesting. Caitlin is funny but straightforward, and never talks down to her audience. If your kid (or you!) has questions about death and dead bodies, reading this together would be a great way to answer them.