Death's Summer Coat: What the History of Death and Dying Teaches Us About Life and Living by Brandy Schillace

Death's Summer Coat: What the History of Death and Dying Teaches Us About Life and Living Reviews

• 
  TJ

  The topic is fascinating, but the execution lacking. The author has the attention span of a gnat, introducing interesting topics and then moving on after a sentence or two. I'd be interested to read a more complete, more academic treatment of the same material.
• 
  Amy Layton

  Death's Summer Coat offers an intriguing perspective on how death and dying has changed over the course of time.  How has the concept of a "good death" changed, and how did the black plague change our perspectives of how we treat the dead and dying?  Why did we pose with our did for daguerreotypes?  And how has mourning fashion changed depending on globalization?  Schillace answers all of these questions and more, making for a very satisfying read.  
  
  Content includes many pictures, sources, and suggestions for further reading, showing that Shillace has certainly done her research, and that though a taboo subject, death is talked about quite a lot.  
  
  I enjoyed her quick wit and the ways in which she explained pieces of history and cultures unlike ours.  After all, how can we justify acts such as sati, or the ways in which some cultures cannibalize their dead?  I loved that she went above and beyond, discussing plagues, genocides, war, and onward and how they've changed our own cultures.  
  
  This is a great overview at all the complexities mortality has brought upon us and the philosophy behind so many of our actions.  We will all die one day, but before you do, read this book.
  
  Review cross-listed
  here!
• 
  Kimberly Lohr

  "Death, not as the end of life, but as a part of it."
  
  In turns academic and poetic, looking at history and worldwide death rituals to better understand how the west got to this place where death is hidden away.
• 
  Byron Edgington

  Here we have an excellent book that anyone who is going to die should read. The author has taken us across several ages and rituals of death, illuminating its social relevance in times past, arriving at our current, so called modern view of it. As Schillace says, we in the west need to once again 'put on death's summer coat,' in other words, we must reacquaint ourselves with the concept of death in its harmless, even its benign and useful aspects in order to return to a better and more realistic outlook toward our final disposition. A bit like 'Sex at Dawn,' this book ranges over many cultural and geographic rituals surrounding death, including several wonderful depictions from history, with the conclusion that, due to our western obsession with modern medicine's curative powers, and societies frantic yearning for immortality, we've seen only the winter trappings of death, not the gentler, comforting clothes that death wears, since it is indeed an inevitable and unavoidable part of living. According to this author those rituals, practices, depictions, and beliefs we've discarded have left us naked and exposed to death's harsh and negative aspects, without the comforting wraps that our forebears knew would ease our passage.
  Death's Summer Coat: What the History of Death and Dying Teaches Us About Life and Living
• 
  Joanne Mcleod

  I believe it is through history we can learn about and more clearly see our present, and make plans for our future. I found this book helped do that with the topic of death and dying.
  
  I found Brandy’s concluding sentence very well summarized why it is important as an individual and a community to talk and share more about death and dying before the ‘winter’ of life descends upon us:
  
  “We cannot wait until death happens to talk about death. It’s a bit like waiting until winter to gather in the grain. Why not meet now, talk now, while the sun is still warm on your back? That’s the value of the death’s summer coat.”
• 
  Laura

  Very interesting read. I found this book after reading Schillace’s “Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher.” I liked MHDB so much, her writing is professional yet accessible, that I wanted to find another book by her. I can definitely tell this is an earlier work: the organization and transitions used are on the clunky side, but the material is interesting enough, I didn’t mind. She has one more book about the history of steam punk, but my library doesn’t have it. Might have to do some digging.
• 
  David Becker

  Rather haphazard collection of funereal facts from around the world, coverage of the death with dignity movement and more. If there was an overarching theme or argument, I couldn’t discern it.
• 
  Ending Well

  Every time I read this I am reminded at how wonderful a job it does introducing the important threads how “how we got here” in terms of our relationship to mortality, death, and mourning.
• 
  Annika Brock

  I agree with what a lot of people have already said about this: it's interesting information, but each topic is glossed over fairly quickly.
• 
  E.A.

  An engaging read
• 
  Phoebe

  From the very first review I read of this book, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I drove to several local bookstores, assuming that since the author works here in Cleveland, it would be easy to find as soon as it was released. But no. I ended up having to order it online.
  Maybe it seemed disappointing because I had built it up so much in my mind? I'm not sure, but I am sure that it was not what I expected. Right on the cover are the words "What th History of Death and Dying Teaches Us about Life and Living" and yet that whole "teaches us about life and living" part seemed, to me, markedly absent. I don't really feel like I learned a thing about life or living from this book. I learned some interesting stuff about death and dying, for sure. But overall... Disappointed.
• 
  Stephanie

  Everyone should read this book. It really makes you reflect on your beliefs and how we as a culture got to where we are today when it concerns death. It managed to not be uncomfortable or disrespectful. It was a great conversation starter. Anyone who knows someone who has died or know old people or is willing to come to terms with the fact that someday you too will die can find a friend in this book.
• 
  MKF

  This book is better for people intrested in death and haven't read anything else about the subject. There are only a few chapters and each chapter has different sections. My problem is that the author seemed to jump around and so you would be reading about something then she would be talking about something else.
• 
  Ramandus Grayhat

  Fluidly written, moves from one topic to the next effortlessly. Explains death rituals and beliefs among various cultures and religions without bias.
• 
  Dlmrose

  2.5
• 
  Louise Armstrong

  I got bored with this - it's a list of customs but there's nothing much else. Flat reportage rather than mind-blowing ideas.
• 
  Sandy Barretts

  Extremely shallow treatment.