How to Die in the 21st Century: A Whole New Way to Talk About Death (Hannah Gould, T&H)

For something that will affect all of us, death is a topic that’s difficult to bring up. Enter Hannah Gould, whose How to Die in the 21st Century seeks to bring the realities of dying into the open. She writes with urgency that “Populations in North-East Asia, Northern Europe and Australia are hurtling toward an era of ‘peak death’ in which more people will die than ever before”. Gould suggests information and openness are needed to cope with death – no easy feat in a culture that struggles even to say the word. This book covers everything from philosophies about death to the practicalities of organising funerals and eulogies, as well as coping with the vastness of grief and deciding what you’d like to leave behind (in a chapter titled “Your legacy does not have to be a grave”). Gould, a cultural anthropologist with a decade’s experience researching death around the globe, has a breezy, open style, frankly acknowledging her own unease with death and resisting the pressure to frame it positively. Emotionally insightful and respectful, How to Die in the 21st Century offers useful, often comforting information about one of the most enduring taboos. Gould writes, “I firmly believe that contemplating death can make its inevitable experience better for ourselves and for those around us” – and this intelligent and compassionate book makes a compelling case for that belief.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Anthony Morris is a freelance reviewer, novelist and podcaster. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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