The Story
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2026
WINNER OF THE NERO BOOK AWARD FOR NON-FICTION 2025
LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2026
āPlease read this book. It may very well change how you liveā Rachel Clarke
āProfoundā¦compellingā¦beautifulā Nina Stibbe
āFilled with loveā¦I was spellboundā Kathryn Mannix
āBrilliantā¦so specialā Guardian
An inspiring true story about life, love and letting go
Sarah Perryās father-in-law David died in the autumn of 2022, only nine days after a cancer diagnosis. He was in some ways a very ordinary man: he loved stamp collecting, fish and chips, comic novels and his local church. Yet as Sarah and her husband Robert nursed David through his final days, they realised how extraordinary he really was.
This loving, clear-eyed and unforgettable book shows how death may be met and understood as a part of life ā a universal experience that is terrible and beautiful, intimate and real, sometimes all at once.
A Book of the Year for The Times, Guardian, Financial Times and Observer
'Beautiful and profound and completely grippingā Mark Haddon
'A must-readā The Times
'We cannot be but somewhat changed by this remarkable bookā Telegraph
'This book will be a lifeline for so many peopleā SeĆ”n Hewitt
'Perry is in a league of her ownā Sara Collins
Description
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2026
WINNER OF THE NERO BOOK AWARD FOR NON-FICTION 2025
LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2026
āPlease read this book. It may very well change how you liveā Rachel Clarke
āProfoundā¦compellingā¦beautifulā Nina Stibbe
āFilled with loveā¦I was spellboundā Kathryn Mannix
āBrilliantā¦so specialā Guardian
An inspiring true story about life, love and letting go
Sarah Perryās father-in-law David died in the autumn of 2022, only nine days after a cancer diagnosis. He was in some ways a very ordinary man: he loved stamp collecting, fish and chips, comic novels and his local church. Yet as Sarah and her husband Robert nursed David through his final days, they realised how extraordinary he really was.
This loving, clear-eyed and unforgettable book shows how death may be met and understood as a part of life ā a universal experience that is terrible and beautiful, intimate and real, sometimes all at once.
A Book of the Year for The Times, Guardian, Financial Times and Observer
'Beautiful and profound and completely grippingā Mark Haddon
'A must-readā The Times
'We cannot be but somewhat changed by this remarkable bookā Telegraph
'This book will be a lifeline for so many peopleā SeĆ”n Hewitt
'Perry is in a league of her ownā Sara Collins
