Gail Rubin. 2026. Light Tree Press, LLC. 502p.
Rubin, ‘The Doyenne of Death®’, is a certified thanatologist with extensive experience in end-of-life planning. This book, her latest, curates a list of films, television series and documentaries that discuss death from a variety of angles.
Each entry in the book provides a summary and questions to encourage further reflection on death and dying, cross-referencing similar and contrasting films. The book is set up principally as a guide for bringing a group together to watch one or more of the films, following the spirit of a death café or death dinner, to “genuinely invite reflection, conversation and planning”. As Rubin emphasizes, the medium is accessible: “where many of us go to rehearse the big moments of life without leaving our seats”.
Rubin’s experience and wisdom suffuse the book. Any deep discussion about death is ultimately much more about life — and love. Films “give language to feelings that are often difficult to express and the permission to grieve in our own imperfect ways”.
As Rubin states, “Talking about sex won’t make you pregnant. Talking about funerals won’t make you dead. But it just might make life, and the ending of it, a whole lot better.”
Readers are likely to discover a wide range of films they will be tempted to see, as well as new insights among those that they are familiar with.
