Death Positivity
Death will unfailingly find every person to have ever lived, yet is treated as a taboo topic in some cultures, causing extreme, pervasive anxiety. This nonfiction list aims to broaden understanding of this inevitability, both to hopefully negate some of the anxiety as well as satisfy some of our more morbid curiosities. It also aims to show that death is another, still useful, stage in the life cycle, aiding those that remain by helping to advance medicine, solve crimes, or understand art.
created by acloudofbats
last updated April, 2026
Comments
SOOOOO COOLLL
if ur taking recs, i love that good night by dr sunita puri :)
Yes, I'll always take recs! Thanks for bringing this one to my attention. c:
YAYY
- love this!! 2) bonus for people working through the list - I once used my death positivity knowledge to out creep a creepy guy so he would leave me alone. It worked! Hahhaha
Totally a bonus point in knowing more about death!
I am rubbing my hands together so hard right now 😭😭😭😭 thank you so much.
You're so welcome! I hope you find much to enjoy in the list, and of course I'll continue adding to it as I find things that sound good. c:
gotta get that overlap up. this is definitely a topic of interest for me! immediate save.
Yay, so glad I could be of help in your en-death-vors!
this list is awesome - side tangent story time: In10th grade or so, I was in a video production class and I was tasked with making a documentary about something and I chose "the death and dying process", wanting to learn more about what the modern ceremony and procedures/traditions were in comparison to history overtime, the different ways people process loss, grief, and overtime saying goodbye to loved ones. Needless to say my teacher was a little taken aback by 'my macabre tendencies'. I got as far as animating a bunch of images from history texts about ancient practices in the BC-early ADs and interviewed a lovely volunteering widow at a local cemetery about what it was like to 'lose a loved one', but unfortunately the funeral homes I contacted didn't feel like talking to a lowly 15-16yr old with a camcorder, I suppose. I'll still never regret that idea/project I had. I don't understand the taboo nature around loss and death it is such a natural part of our life cycle and wish we had the opportunity to discuss and learn more about it. Especially in US culture - I think this list is so interesting and cool/useful for many to explore this topic further! Thank you for sharing it.
Great list! Which do you think are the standouts?
Thank you! I still have a lot of reading to do just on this list, but I think great intro books are all of Caitlin Doughty's, both of Sue Black's, Dark Archives, and All the Living and the Dead. Most of them I listened to as audiobooks and most were read by the author, so they were great experiences.
I've been a Caitlin Doughty fan for a long time, but I need to check out Sue Black!
Some of her subject matter is tough to get through just because she worked on some major world disasters, helping to identify remains, but it's such a good look at how important forensic anthropology is. She narrates one of the books herself and has a lovely dry wit and Scottish accent too.
you have some of the best lists ever... like monsterfucking and death positivity?
So glad you appreciate the range. ☺️
