Death of an Ordinary Man

£18.99

Sarah Perry’s father-in-law, David, died at home nine days after a cancer diagnosis and having previously been in the good health. The speed of his illness outstripped that of the NHS and social care, so the majority of nursing fell to Sarah and her husband. They witnessed what happens to the body and spirit, hour by hour, as it approaches death. ‘Death of an Ordinary Man’ is an unstinting account of death by cancer, a reportage into the daily experience of caring, an exploration of the structural conditions of dying in the UK, and most importantly a testament to David’s life, that of an ordinary man. Unflinching and profoundly moving, Sarah Perry confronts the taboo surrounding death and shows us how to confront all of the terror and beauty that comes with the end of life – and how the saddest thing she has ever seen is also the best thing she’s ever done.

In stock

Description

‘Please read this book. It may very well change how you live’ RACHEL CLARKE

‘I was spellbound’ KATHRYN MANNIX

‘Beautiful and profound and completely gripping’ MARK HADDON

Sarah Perry’s father-in-law David died in the autumn of 2022, only nine days after a cancer diagnosis. Until then he’d been a healthy and happy man: he loved stamp collecting, fish and chips, comic novels, his local church, and the Antiques Roadshow. He was in some ways a very ordinary man, but as he began to die, it became clear how extraordinary he was.

Sarah and her husband Robert nursed David themselves at home, eventually with the help of carers and visiting nurses. They bathed and cleaned and dressed him, comforted him in pain, sat with him through waking and sleeping, talked to him, sang to him, prayed with him. Day by day and hour by hour, they witnessed what happens to the body and spirit as death approaches and finally arrives.

Death of an Ordinary Man is an unforgettable account of this universal aspect of life. It is not a book about grief: it is a book about dying, and it is a book about family, and care and love.

‘By the end I was left shaken, deeply moved. It is beautiful, a work of love and grace’ CHRISTOS TSIOLKAS

‘I have not been moved like this by a book in a very long time… This book will be a lifeline for so many people’ SEÁN HEWITT

‘To read this book is a privilege, a gift on the craft of dying’ AMY KEY

Additional information

Weight 0.4 kg
Dimensions 22.2 × 13.8 × 2.5 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Hardback

Pages

208

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

362.1969940092 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K