Known for her web series, Ask a Mortician, Caitlin Doughty is a proponent of making funerals more natural and meaningful than the current impersonal, profit-driven model. In this, her second book, she explores funeral customs and death rituals of other cultures: visiting cemeteries, witnessing funerals, and attending celebrations of the dead the world over. She describes old-fashioned funeral pyres, cremation ceremonies involving chopsticks, and the reverent tending of mummified relatives. Many of these seemingly exotic rituals include close personal interactions with the deceased’s earthly remains; a stark contrast to the rather antiseptic practices promoted by the American funeral industry. Doughty laments that we have so distanced ourselves from death, that it is only viewed with fear and disgust, whereas other cultures continue to foster relationships with their loved ones, remembering them, honoring them, and including them in family life even after they have passed on.
If you like the readable nonfiction style of Mary Roach or have ever wondered why a burial can’t be a simpler, less expensive affair, this book will interest you. You may also wish to read Doughty’s first book, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, a memoir of her time working in a crematory.
Rachel is on a date— one of her first since her divorce and her foray into online dating— when her date asks her daughter’s name. When he learns it’s Aviva, he can’t help but bring up disgraced congressional intern Aviva Grossman, who had an affair with the handsome, beloved, and very married Florida Congressman Aaron Levin. That Aviva is, of course, Rachel’s daughter, and so ends the date.
Rachel has barely heard from her daughter since the end of the affair, when Aviva fled South Florida to get away from the scandal and attempt to get on with her life. Now, even though it has been more than a decade, Aviva is still reviled while the congressman is still in office. Aviva has had to reinvent herself as Jane, a small-town wedding planner. When she decides to rekindle her love of politics by running for mayor, she risks the collision of her carefully planned new life and her notorious past.
Zevin tells the story of the Avivagate scandal and its aftermath through the eyes of the women it has affected the most, including the congressman’s wife and Aviva herself. The story is in turns hilariously funny, tender, and moving. Zevin’s flawed but likable characters and her skill at weaving humor into a thought-provoking story make it a must-read.
Every child dreams of going off to Fairyland to have magical adventures, but Gert is one of the lucky ones who was actually able to go. She wouldn't call it a dream, though-- more like a nightmare. She's been trapped in Fairyland (and her six year old body) for nearly thirty years trying to find the magical key that will let her leave. Along the way she's made more enemies than friends, and the people of Fairyland are willing to go to extreme lengths to get rid of Gert, one way or the other.
Funny and gory aren't often found together in the same story, but Skottie Young easily pulled it off with I Hate Fairyland. Full of over-the-top violence, chaos, bright colors, and energetic character design, I Hate Fairyland is delightfully quirky and entertaining. Definitely not for the kids though!
On the Dalai Lama's eightieth birthday, he was able to spend one week with one of his closest friends, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. Author Douglas Carlton Abrams tagged along to interview both men and record their interactions. This book is the product of that week together.
Both of these men, great moral and religious leaders, grew up in vastly different cultures, but both share a worldview, what the Archbishop calls "Ubuntu," that everyone in the world is connected and interdependent on one another, and that the more we are divided, the less joyful we will be. Although they have lived through horrible times and seen unspeakable things happen to their people, both men are loving and playful, not cynical or angry. They make jokes at each others' expense and have long discussions about life and morality and how to be joyful and grateful and generous even when there is so much suffering.
If you are looking for something heartwarming and spirit-lifting, The Book of Joy lives up to its name and then some. In a world that can seem angry and chaotic and divided, this book offers to renew your hopes. It's a great way to start a new year.
