The vignettes in this book are touching and thought provoking. Something that I did enjoy was the fact that the author was not only interviewing people on the more liberal death-positive movement. I liked that the stories were varied and seemed very genuine. As an interviewer and as a journalist, the author presented a beautiful work that I would highly recommend.

My only thing I didn’t particularly enjoy in the book is the fact that the author could be a bit heavy-handed with her own personal feelings at times— namely her very apparent disdain for Catholics and Americans. While she’s entitled to her own opinion, it often felt like she was inserting barbed jabs for no real narrative purpose. This contrasts sharply with her inclusion of her internal struggles with the infant in the bathtub. While this is the same personal interlude, it felt more relevant and created a very human, very intimate connection of personal essay and exploration.