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Death: The Trip of a Lifetime
A cross-cultural study that explores attitudes about death and dying around the world includes interviews with Stephen King, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, and the Dalai Lama
- GenresNonfictionDeathTravel
304 pages, Paperback
First published March 28, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 30, 2018
Interesting and light hearted, most of the time. Some passages reached deep into my soul and I found myself feeling genuine grief along with and for those whom we meet throughout the course of the book.
Although some sections and passages obviously show the age of the book, I found it a worthwhile read. I made me take a section look at my own thoughts regarding the end of life and I'm sure that it is only germinated a new lifelong (excuse the pun) interest.
Although some sections and passages obviously show the age of the book, I found it a worthwhile read. I made me take a section look at my own thoughts regarding the end of life and I'm sure that it is only germinated a new lifelong (excuse the pun) interest.
October 28, 2011
I have dim memories of watching the PBS documentary companion to this book back when it was first released, 1992 or 1993 (sadly, they are not pleasant memories- while the subject matter was interesting to me then as now, with its horror movie clips, even PBS could be too much for me as a kid at times!) and it seems like a promising premise; a man travels the globe exploring cultural attitudes towards death and dying, stopping by nearly every continent. From popular cultural attitudes toward movie death in the cheesy, over-the-top goriness of Troma Films to the somber over-the-top pomp and circumstance of the English Victorian funeral and nearly everywhere in between, Greg Palmer approaches the issues with a bit of humor and much understanding.
As a Unitarian, he is very interested in how people respond to the great mystery of death from culture to culture and encounters some very diverse reactions; a theme park cemetery in Taiwan, traditional versus commercialized Days of the Dead in Mexico, even hopes to escape death through cryogenic freezing. Palmer maintains a deep compassion throughout much of his interviews with grieving people he interviews, which allows him to ruminate about how different religions and cultures react to death and what may or may not come after (both for the living and the dead). Especially interesting was the story of the Ghanaian coroner struggling to reconcile his scientific duties of determining cause of death with religious and funeral practices of his home nation. It all occasionally became a bit dry, unfortunately, in spite of the global travel and macabre themes. It may be that the topic Palmer chose to write about, “death in world culture,” is a bit too broad and all encompassing and he can bog down in the details. Especially during the chapters that discuss the importance of funerals in the expression of grief across cultures, Palmer’s writing slows down quite a bit and can almost be a bit boring. Perhaps some of these sections might come across better in the television documentary, allowing the viewer to hear and see the interviewees and their emotions personally rather than second hand. In addition, the work is now nearly twenty years old and cannot account for many of the changing attitudes towards funeral customs in particular over the last few decades.
To conclude, "Death: The Trip of a Lifetime" is an interesting and introspective study of world death attitudes, if almost too broad and lacking the images of its documentary half, that is worth a read for people interested in the differences and similarities of the world’s reaction to the existence of human death.
As a Unitarian, he is very interested in how people respond to the great mystery of death from culture to culture and encounters some very diverse reactions; a theme park cemetery in Taiwan, traditional versus commercialized Days of the Dead in Mexico, even hopes to escape death through cryogenic freezing. Palmer maintains a deep compassion throughout much of his interviews with grieving people he interviews, which allows him to ruminate about how different religions and cultures react to death and what may or may not come after (both for the living and the dead). Especially interesting was the story of the Ghanaian coroner struggling to reconcile his scientific duties of determining cause of death with religious and funeral practices of his home nation. It all occasionally became a bit dry, unfortunately, in spite of the global travel and macabre themes. It may be that the topic Palmer chose to write about, “death in world culture,” is a bit too broad and all encompassing and he can bog down in the details. Especially during the chapters that discuss the importance of funerals in the expression of grief across cultures, Palmer’s writing slows down quite a bit and can almost be a bit boring. Perhaps some of these sections might come across better in the television documentary, allowing the viewer to hear and see the interviewees and their emotions personally rather than second hand. In addition, the work is now nearly twenty years old and cannot account for many of the changing attitudes towards funeral customs in particular over the last few decades.
To conclude, "Death: The Trip of a Lifetime" is an interesting and introspective study of world death attitudes, if almost too broad and lacking the images of its documentary half, that is worth a read for people interested in the differences and similarities of the world’s reaction to the existence of human death.
February 16, 2024
A BRITISH BROADCASTER SUPPLEMENTS A PBS SPECIAL
Broadcaster Greg Palmer wrote in the Introduction to this 1993 book, “It’s a lot easier for me to say what this book is not than what it is… Although religious persons state their beliefs about the life everlasting, this is not ‘A Day in the Life of Heaven and Hell.’ … Although much factual information slips in here and there, this is not ‘A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Contemporary Death Attitudes’… And finally, although this book is certainly associated with the PBS television series of the same name, this is not ‘A Companion to the TV Show With the Same Stuff Just All Written Out.’ What this book is, I guess, is an attempt to take a closer look at death at a time in my life when death seems to be taking a closer look at me… This book is about some of the answers to some of the questions we have about death. Unfortunately, the questions we ALL have are unanswerable. Nobody told me from their personal experience what it’s like to die and what happens after that. We’ll all just have to wait and see.”
He interviews a ‘Mr. Tsao,’ who tells him, “The Trip of a Lifetime… is meant to show that life is a cycle and that death is just a natural part of that cycle. If you do good work, show respect to your ancestors, and live an honorable life you have nothing to be afraid of when life ends. If my efforts are in some way entertaining, so be it, but I think my life’s work is to enlighten, not to amuse.” (Pg. 27-28)
Palmer observes, “Supposedly the reward for a good life comes after death, amongst the fluffy white clouds and daily harp concerts. But as long as we’re healthy, isn’t what we really want and expect divine consideration for our good deeds on BOTH sides of the Last Breath? The movies imply such considerations are possible. They help us forget… that death is brutally impartial and treats all biological units equally. The first question the great majority of people ask when they are going to die is, ‘Why me?’ The answer, if we are willing to face the reality of death, is ‘Why not?’” (Pg. 43)
He states, “During the Vietnam War many Americans were convinced … that the Vietnamese didn’t care about dying as much as we did. That was the explanation for Buddhist monks immolating themselves in the streets of Saigon, and even for Hanoi continuing to pursue this ‘hopeless’ war against the all-powerful United States… Like all successful propaganda, there is just enough truth in the lie to make it something fools believe and nonfools will accept, at least for the duration of the conflict. Of course other cultures care about dying as much as Americans do, but they care in different ways…” (Pg. 61)
He recounts, “I once asked Buddhist priest Sogyal Rinpoche, author of ‘The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying’ and a specialist in interpreting the Tibetan Book of the Dead for Western audiences, how he defined the moment of death. It’s much more than a biological question… So I expected Rinpoche, a worldly, sophisticated man, to take some time with his answer. I’m about to hear the wisdom of the ages, I thought, coming face-to-face with scientific hopes for the future. ‘It’s simple,’ Rinpoche said. ‘You breathe out, and you don’t breathe in.’ Indeed. It may be just that simple… And what was frightening about his answer is that it makes death such an easy, little thing.” (Pg. 95)
He turns to Cryonics: “Joe Cannon [said], ‘Cryonics was my interest at first. Terry [his wife, a neuropatient] accepted it, but she accepted anything I was interested in. And there’s something about freezing and saving oneself, somehow it’s a man’s thing… But as the years went on, Terry became more interested, I think for the same reasons I was..’ … Cryonics was made for a guy like Joe… A self-described agnostic, Joe thinks cryonics is the only chance for continued survival, not just the scientific chance… Joe Cannon is, I suspect… a person who is driven by neither ego nor personal curiosity about the future. The real reason … is because it offered the slim possibility, not of his own resurrection, but of Terry’s. And the even slimmer chance that he could be with her again. Joe Cannon is a man eternally in love.” (Pg 123, 125)
He suggests, “Proper body disposal is so important to us that we have used how the body is gotten rid of as a punishment. There was no prohibition against holding a memorial service for a person executed for murder in pre-Anatomy Act Britain. The rule that murderers had to be dissected strictly went to how society would get rid of the body. And the protest when the Anatomy Act transferred that punishment to paupers was understandable. Because what really shows the human being’s consideration for the dead is the care we take, not with the bodies of friends, but with the bodies of strangers.” (Pg. 167)
He reports, “In the Judeo-Christian tradition it is the temptation of Eve that brings death and decay into the world. Similarly, a well-known Japanese creation myth concerns a brother and sister, Izanagi and Izanami. After an incestuous coupling, Izanami gives birth to the Japanese islands, and then dies… I doubt many modern Japanese are affected by this tale, although the Ugly Females of the Underworld conjures up an image that certainly lingers.” (Pg. 183)
He recounts, “A funeral director told me once that one of the hardest things he had to do in his job was not laugh when the bereaved family said to him, ‘This is what Dad would have wanted.’ And the reason he felt like laughing was because in forty years in the business, ‘What Dad would have wanted’ was NEVER at odds with what the family wanted too. Nobody ever said to him, ‘We don’t want to do this, but Dad liked it so we’re going to do it anyway.’” (Pg. 193)
He points out, “None of our normal controlling tricks work with death. We can’t pretend we don’t care how we die, because we are then forced to say, ‘No, it won’t bother me if I suffer excruciating pain for years. Nope, no problem.’ We also cannot ostensibly pass responsibility for the control of our death along to someone else, at least not until the death is imminent.” (Pg. 247)
He states in the Afterword, “I’ll admit an interest in my own social immortality as well. Whenever it is that I go to my grave I’ll be a little bit happier knowing that fifty years later somebody might find a copy of this book in a cardboard box and say, ‘My great-grandfather did this.’ By then, of course, an actual book will be regarded with the same vague curiosity we regard the dial phone and stereopticon today, but at least it will be something. Up in heaven I’ll be one pleased angel.” (Pg. 287)
This book covers a variety of topics—which may interest some readers.
Broadcaster Greg Palmer wrote in the Introduction to this 1993 book, “It’s a lot easier for me to say what this book is not than what it is… Although religious persons state their beliefs about the life everlasting, this is not ‘A Day in the Life of Heaven and Hell.’ … Although much factual information slips in here and there, this is not ‘A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Contemporary Death Attitudes’… And finally, although this book is certainly associated with the PBS television series of the same name, this is not ‘A Companion to the TV Show With the Same Stuff Just All Written Out.’ What this book is, I guess, is an attempt to take a closer look at death at a time in my life when death seems to be taking a closer look at me… This book is about some of the answers to some of the questions we have about death. Unfortunately, the questions we ALL have are unanswerable. Nobody told me from their personal experience what it’s like to die and what happens after that. We’ll all just have to wait and see.”
He interviews a ‘Mr. Tsao,’ who tells him, “The Trip of a Lifetime… is meant to show that life is a cycle and that death is just a natural part of that cycle. If you do good work, show respect to your ancestors, and live an honorable life you have nothing to be afraid of when life ends. If my efforts are in some way entertaining, so be it, but I think my life’s work is to enlighten, not to amuse.” (Pg. 27-28)
Palmer observes, “Supposedly the reward for a good life comes after death, amongst the fluffy white clouds and daily harp concerts. But as long as we’re healthy, isn’t what we really want and expect divine consideration for our good deeds on BOTH sides of the Last Breath? The movies imply such considerations are possible. They help us forget… that death is brutally impartial and treats all biological units equally. The first question the great majority of people ask when they are going to die is, ‘Why me?’ The answer, if we are willing to face the reality of death, is ‘Why not?’” (Pg. 43)
He states, “During the Vietnam War many Americans were convinced … that the Vietnamese didn’t care about dying as much as we did. That was the explanation for Buddhist monks immolating themselves in the streets of Saigon, and even for Hanoi continuing to pursue this ‘hopeless’ war against the all-powerful United States… Like all successful propaganda, there is just enough truth in the lie to make it something fools believe and nonfools will accept, at least for the duration of the conflict. Of course other cultures care about dying as much as Americans do, but they care in different ways…” (Pg. 61)
He recounts, “I once asked Buddhist priest Sogyal Rinpoche, author of ‘The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying’ and a specialist in interpreting the Tibetan Book of the Dead for Western audiences, how he defined the moment of death. It’s much more than a biological question… So I expected Rinpoche, a worldly, sophisticated man, to take some time with his answer. I’m about to hear the wisdom of the ages, I thought, coming face-to-face with scientific hopes for the future. ‘It’s simple,’ Rinpoche said. ‘You breathe out, and you don’t breathe in.’ Indeed. It may be just that simple… And what was frightening about his answer is that it makes death such an easy, little thing.” (Pg. 95)
He turns to Cryonics: “Joe Cannon [said], ‘Cryonics was my interest at first. Terry [his wife, a neuropatient] accepted it, but she accepted anything I was interested in. And there’s something about freezing and saving oneself, somehow it’s a man’s thing… But as the years went on, Terry became more interested, I think for the same reasons I was..’ … Cryonics was made for a guy like Joe… A self-described agnostic, Joe thinks cryonics is the only chance for continued survival, not just the scientific chance… Joe Cannon is, I suspect… a person who is driven by neither ego nor personal curiosity about the future. The real reason … is because it offered the slim possibility, not of his own resurrection, but of Terry’s. And the even slimmer chance that he could be with her again. Joe Cannon is a man eternally in love.” (Pg 123, 125)
He suggests, “Proper body disposal is so important to us that we have used how the body is gotten rid of as a punishment. There was no prohibition against holding a memorial service for a person executed for murder in pre-Anatomy Act Britain. The rule that murderers had to be dissected strictly went to how society would get rid of the body. And the protest when the Anatomy Act transferred that punishment to paupers was understandable. Because what really shows the human being’s consideration for the dead is the care we take, not with the bodies of friends, but with the bodies of strangers.” (Pg. 167)
He reports, “In the Judeo-Christian tradition it is the temptation of Eve that brings death and decay into the world. Similarly, a well-known Japanese creation myth concerns a brother and sister, Izanagi and Izanami. After an incestuous coupling, Izanami gives birth to the Japanese islands, and then dies… I doubt many modern Japanese are affected by this tale, although the Ugly Females of the Underworld conjures up an image that certainly lingers.” (Pg. 183)
He recounts, “A funeral director told me once that one of the hardest things he had to do in his job was not laugh when the bereaved family said to him, ‘This is what Dad would have wanted.’ And the reason he felt like laughing was because in forty years in the business, ‘What Dad would have wanted’ was NEVER at odds with what the family wanted too. Nobody ever said to him, ‘We don’t want to do this, but Dad liked it so we’re going to do it anyway.’” (Pg. 193)
He points out, “None of our normal controlling tricks work with death. We can’t pretend we don’t care how we die, because we are then forced to say, ‘No, it won’t bother me if I suffer excruciating pain for years. Nope, no problem.’ We also cannot ostensibly pass responsibility for the control of our death along to someone else, at least not until the death is imminent.” (Pg. 247)
He states in the Afterword, “I’ll admit an interest in my own social immortality as well. Whenever it is that I go to my grave I’ll be a little bit happier knowing that fifty years later somebody might find a copy of this book in a cardboard box and say, ‘My great-grandfather did this.’ By then, of course, an actual book will be regarded with the same vague curiosity we regard the dial phone and stereopticon today, but at least it will be something. Up in heaven I’ll be one pleased angel.” (Pg. 287)
This book covers a variety of topics—which may interest some readers.
May 6, 2017
I saw the PBS documentary related to this book and was - not enchanted, exactly, but fascinated. It didn't really inform the viewer so much as meander through a series of interesting characters, places, and rituals about death and how people the world over deal with it.
The book revisits the documentary, only with far more personal asides and humorous observations. I suppose it would depend on how one feels about death to determine if one would like it.
The book revisits the documentary, only with far more personal asides and humorous observations. I suppose it would depend on how one feels about death to determine if one would like it.
May 1, 2024
A witty little trip indeed-don’t skip the acknowledgements at the end
March 8, 2014
Well, I rarely give up on reading a book, especially if it's not particularly poorly written or offensive in some way. I thought this was going to be a book about near-death experiences in every culture, but it was really just a look at death customs around the world. I done learnt about that stuff in mortuary schoo' already...
June 19, 2008
A book that has stayed with me...explores and compares how death is viewed and handled in different cultures. Our US funeral business gets aired, and reflects very poorly on us as a culture.
January 27, 2011
pretty interesting read for a book on death.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews