Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? And Other Questions About Dead Bodies

by Caitlin Doughty

Here’s the deal: It’s normal to be curious about death. But as people grow up, they internalize this idea that wondering about death is “morbid” or “weird.” They grow scared, and criticize other people’s interest in the topic to keep from having to confront death themselves.

This is a problem. Most people in our culture are death illiterate, which makes them even more afraid.

But it’s also reality, and reality doesn’t change just because you don’t like it.

We can’t make death fun, but we can make learning about death fun. Death is science and history, art and literature. It bridges every culture and unites the whole of humanity!

Many people, including me, believe that we can control some of our fears by embracing death, learning about it, and ask...