“The secret to a beautiful death is living a beautiful life.”
This is probably the most quotable book of the year!
“The Collected Regrets of Clover” is a debut novel by Mikki Brammer that tells the story of Clover Brooks, a death doula in New York City. After her grandfather dies alone while she is traveling, Clover becomes a death doula, dedicating her life to ushering people peacefully through their end-of-life process. It was my first encounter reading about death doulas and death cafés and I am fascinated!
“Grief, I’d come to realize was like dust, When you’re in the thick of a dust storm, you’re completely disoriented by the onslaught, struggling to see or breathe. But as the force recedes, and you slowly find your bearing and see a path forward, the dust begins to settle into the crevices. And it will never disappear completely- as the years pass, you’ll find it in unexpected places at unexpected moments.”
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.
“Maybe we just need to appreciate that many aspects of life— and the people we love—will always be a mystery. Because without mystery, there is no magic.”
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.
“Instead of constantly asking ourselves the question of why we’re here, maybe we should be savouring the simpler truth: We are here.”
I adored this book. It is beautifully written, dealing with death, life, regrets, and grief in a sensitive and insightful way. It was also reminding me of The Institute for Creative Dying by Jarred Thompson (making peace with dying) and The Cassandra Complex by Holly Smale (Clover’s somethings awkward navigation of social interactions). And I loved Claudia so much!
“The truth is, grief never really goes away. Someone told me once that it’s like a bag that you always carry – it starts out as large as a suitcase, and as the years go by, it might reduce to the size of a purse, but you carry it forever. I know it probably sounds cliched, but it helped me realize that I didn’t need to ever get over it completely.”
What I enjoyed most:
- Uplifting and hopeful
- Celebrating life and death
- Memorable characters
- Witty dialogue
“Don’t let the best parts of life pass you by because you’re too scared of the unknown. Be cautiously reckless.”
The author Mikki Brammer is from Tasmania, Australia and now lives in New York City by way of France and Spain. She writes about architecture, art and design for publications including Architectural Digest, ELLE Décor, and Dwell.
With thanks to Exclusive Books for the opportunity to read this book.
About this book
https://www.exclusivebooks.co.za/product/9780241998588
