In this episode of Death Virgin, Kristen starts the year by reading a full, unruly, prickly, and deeply human obituary—one that refuses to smooth the edges of a life well lived.

The obituary of Doris McClintock (1939–2025) is funny, specific, political, tender, stubborn, and alive with detail: pine boxes, black bears, arthritis, grudges, gardens, community, and the refusal to romanticize old age or death. From there, Kristen wanders—lovingly—through pumpkin pie, Yankees, Thanksgiving rules, avoidance strategies, and the long, strange history of obituaries themselves.

This episode explores:

1. How obituaries evolved from elite death notices to public mourning texts
2. Who gets remembered in the historical record—and who gets erased
3. Why euphemisms for death may soften truth rather than honor it
4. Susan Sontag, silence, moral control, and why smoothing edges can do harm
5. Obituaries as political documents, especially for marginalized lives
6. The ethics of writing your own obituary (and whether anyone has to tell the truth for you)
7. Humor as a survival tool when talking about death
8. Why writing your own obituary might not be about closure—but permission

Kristen also introduces a new Death Virgin obituary-writing exercise, including a Mad Lib–style worksheet designed not as a “final draft,” but as a playful, revealing warm-up—something to do alone, or better yet, with others.

Because maybe an obituary isn’t meant to close the book.

Maybe it’s meant to leave it cracked open.

Referenced & Recommended:

1. OBIT (dir. Vanessa Gould)
2. The Deadbeat by Marilyn Johnson
3. Susan Sontag on language, illness, and moral control
4. Merle Haggard, E.B. White, Monty Python, Eminem (yes, really)

Content note: This episode references death, illness, murder, and contemporary violence.

Rest in peace, Doris McClintock.