Very good!

My goal for 2023 is to read at least one nonfiction book a month, and I’m so glad this was the book I picked up for January because it was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. Having worked in a related profession that dealt with death on the regular (emergency room social worker), I found myself really connecting and relating for the themes and topics the author proposed. I listed to this on audio (which I highly recommend because it was narrated by the author), but I plan on immediately getting a physical copy and annotating it because…wow. This was so good.

Story: 5/5
Audiobook: 5/5 (narrated by the author)
Length 8h57min

“I think there is urgent, life-changing knowledge to be gained from becoming familiar with death, and from not letting your limits be guided by a fear of unknown things: the knowledge that you can stand to be near it, so when the time comes you will not let someone you love die alone.”

Was interested in reading something about death and found this pretty engaging. Appreciated the history woven into each section. And appreciated the reflection about COVID - “We are the survivors of an era defined by death”.

4.5/5 rounded up

Interesting contribution to the field. Appreciated the insights into the day-to-day work of those who work with the dead. Most of the book feels like a travelogue written in 2019 and then there’s an epilogue from the early days of the pandemic (2020). I wish the author had tied more themes together, but perhaps that’s for the reader to do. 3.5 stars.