What’s the point of giving someone a beautiful death if you can’t give yourself a beautiful life?

From the day she watched her kindergarten teacher drop dead during a dramatic telling of Peter Rabbit, Clover Brooks has felt a stronger connection with the dying than she has with the living. After the beloved grandfather who raised her dies alone while she is traveling, Clover becomes a death doula in New York City, dedicating her life to ushering people peacefully through their end-of-life process.

Clover spends so much time with the dying that she has no life of her own, until the final wishes of a feisty old woman send Clover on a trip across the country to uncover a forgotten love story–– and perhaps, her own happy ending. As she finds herself struggling to navigate the uncharted roads of romance and friendship, Clover is forced to examine what she really wants and whether she’ll have the courage to go after it.

4.5 stars

This was a beautiful story about death. It’s such a taboo subject, but we need more books like this out in the world. People need to talk about death and learn how to cope with it and deal with the huge emotion of grief. I think it could be extremely beneficial to society. 

Back to the story – I really enjoyed this book. It brought a meaningful look and insight into this extremely taboo subject that not many people want to think about, let alone talk about. I loved the positive messages surrounding death, one being that it’s not something we need to be afraid of but can embrace it and see the beauty in it. Because this is such a thought-provoking book, I think it would make for very interesting conversations at a book club or buddy read. 

I had never heard of a “death doula,” but came to find out that it’s a real-life profession. These are people who help others pass away with dignity and a sense of peace. Many people die alone, but with a death doula by their side, they don’t have to be alone in their final moments. I found this very comforting. People are also able to share their final words – regrets, life lessons, favorite moments, etc. I’d also never heard of “death cafes,” and they are real as well. I thought the whole concept was very, very interesting and intriguing. 

I enjoyed Clover as a character. For a woman in her mid-thirties, she’s pretty innocent and naive. She was sheltered for most of her life, so we can see how much growing up she still needs to do, and even she knows it. In many ways, it felt like she was emotionally stunted and was still learning the ways of the world. It was entertaining to watch her go through life, figuring things out. 

Clover keeps notebooks of regrets from the dying, and in this story, she begins to look back at what people previously spoke about. So then, she uses their advice to improve her own life and take their wisdom and live by it so she won’t have many (or any) regrets when she dies. As she goes through her journey, we see her open herself up to friendships and even take a romantic interest in a guy she meets. There is a romance as a subplot. It’s not prominent, but it was a nice touch, and it was adorable and satisfying. 

As I went through this story with Clover, I felt like I learned a lot from her and how she approached the dying. She had a lot of great tips and advice, not just about how to speak and interact with the dying person, but also how to deal with their friends and families. There are a lot of wonderful life lessons to take away. 

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator. I thought she did a wonderful job. Now I would like to buy a physical copy to reread and annotate. There are lots of great quotes and passages. And speaking of the audio, if you listened to it, don’t miss a bonus clip at the end. There is about a 30-minute conversation between the narrator and the author. It was very insightful to learn more about how this story came about and why the author wrote it. You also learn more about the narrator and her job as well. I really enjoyed hearing more tidbits of info about the process of how this story came to life. 

However, it leaned toward progressive/liberal thinking, and there were some messages that I didn’t agree with. Also, note that there is a side character who is bisexual and in a poly relationship with a “straight” couple.

But overall, I loved this book and the messages about death and dying people. There is so much to learn from this story. I was also impressed that this is the author’s debut novel. I would enjoy reading more from her in the future. Highly recommend!!