I am the same age as Kate with similarly aged children and my thoughts have turned more to my death since Covid has come to town. My parents have also aged rapidly over the last few years and how I honour them in death, mixing their wishes with my own is very poignant. Kate is absolutely correct when she says we need to talk about death more in our culture and normalise it. It has just occurred to me that while I have full funeral instructions for one of my parents, the other hasn’t even mentioned whether they want to be buried or cremated. This book takes you behind the scenes at a mortuary in a Northern Teaching Hospital. The author isn't a pathologist; she doesn't do postmortems-she assists behind the scenes-e.g. with family viewings of bodies, removing pacemakers etc. The book is a month by month account, e.g. May 2019, June 2019, July 2019, August 2019 etc., which suits me as I like diary format. SO SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS is a monument to the work of remembering and a testament to the immutable love of family and the grief that forever changes us. Dina Gachman writes with compassion and honesty, at once heartbreakingly human and mordantly funny. Suffused with tender emotion and unsparing reflection on what it means to lose, how we grieve, and how we survive that grief, So Sorry for Your Loss is a deeply moving book that will never leave you. - -Lauren Hough, NYT bestselling author of LEAVING ISN'T THE HARDEST THING I know I speak for all who knew your brother/sister when I say they were one of the most incredible people you could hope to meet. Their loss will be devastating to so many

Candid, illuminating, and necessarily playful, Dina Gachman’s So Sorry for Your Loss balances the author’s grief over the loss of her mother and sister with smart reflections, while lacing insights from experts throughout. Gachman not only welcomes readers into her own loss journey, but offers meaningful recognition, genuine solace, valuable resources, and even comfort recipes. So Sorry for Your Loss is a meditation on loss that reminds us how to go on living.”Following Kate Marshall’s first year in the mortuary at a north of England NHS hospital, with each month exploring the people she meets, in life and death, as well as her own growing awareness of life behind the veil.

At first this is only a one sided exchange..where often Evie's nervousness only dissipates when she becomes immersed in her 'quilling craft'. Slowly through the use of technology, Evie and Oren develop a relationship that evolves despite Evie frequently exclaiming "I don't have any friends. And that's just the way I like it." p. 64. Meet Mr X: Found in his apartment months after his death, Mr X has no relatives that can be traced. He is the longest-serving resident of the mortuary, having been there for almost a year while the search for his elusive family continues. The staff talk to him like an old friend, but Mr X is disintegrating and a decision has to be made soon. So, she figures that she will give up on friendships, and just concentrate on being a good future funeral director, and watch what her parents do. A searching, heartfelt exploration about what it means to process grief, by a bestselling author and journalist whose experience with two devastating losses inspired her to bring comfort and understanding to others. When we learn that a friend, relative or even acquaintance has experienced the tragedy of losing someone from their lives our first reaction is usually to say ‘sorry for your loss’.I read this in 36 hours. As a nurse with 30years experience it resonated. As a widow of almost three years, it resonated. As a 50 year old woman who lost her mum a year ago, it resonated. I remember reading the adult nonfiction book Curtains: Adventures of an Undertaker-In-Training by Tom Jokinen and being fascinated by the hidden world of funeral homes and what happens behind the scenes. I love the way this book starts off with the author's letter to readers about how she wanted to provide some of that information for kids because what happens after we die is a valid question (the author’s father works in a funeral home, and knowing the processes from her own research was a comfort when her mom died). Many kids and grown ups want to know more but are afraid to ask. Printz Honor winner Foley takes readers through tenderhearted and sometimes painfully funny observations. It’s a narrative that is threaded through with incredible feeling. A warm and clear-eyed examination of a family swimming through grief and a boy who finds the light. ALA Booklist (starred review) Whilst “I’m sorry for your loss” is overused there is a reason for that. It is the simplest and most concise way of expressing our sorrow for the pain someone is going through.