What’s the point of giving someone a beautiful death if you can’t give yourself a beautiful life?
From the day she watched her kindergarten teacher drop dead during a dramatic telling of Peter Rabbit, Clover Brooks has felt a stronger connection with the dying than she has with the living. After the beloved grandfather who raised her dies alone while she is traveling, Clover becomes a death doula in New York City, dedicating her life to ushering people peacefully through their end-of-life process.
Clover spends so much time with the dying that she has no life of her own, until the final wishes of a feisty old woman send Clover on a road trip to uncover a forgotten love story—and perhaps, her own happy ending. As she finds herself struggling to navigate the uncharted roads of romance and friendship, Clover is forced to examine what she really wants, and whether she’ll have the courage to go after it.
Probing, clever, and hopeful, The Collected Regrets of Clover is perfect for readers of The Midnight Library and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine as it turns the normally taboo subject of death into a reason to celebrate life.
Nominee for Reader’s Favorite Fiction on Goodreads (2023)
Angela’s Review
This book was on my shelf for way too long. I’m not sure why I hestitated to start reading it, but I decided it was time. It was sweet and charming, and I am so glad I finally picked it up.
I had heard the term death doula, but to be honest, I had very little idea what they really do. After reading this book, I think everyone should have a death doula. No one should die alone and there are plenty of people that unfortunately do. Clover’s job is to spend time with people who are dying, both if they have no one to do it for them and if they have relatives but those relatives aren’t perhaps able to discuss the practical things that the dying person might wish to go through. It can be an emotional time and everyone deals with it differently. A death doula can talk to the person who is dying without all of the emotion of a family member.
Clover keeps three notebooks entitled ADVICE, REGRETS and CONFESSIONS where she writes the last words of clients she works with. She also tries to live out some of those regrets. This also allows her to refuse to look at her own regrets and confessions, though. There’s some profound stuff in here about loneliness and how Clover didn’t choose it but she didn’t…. not choose it. She let one person’s reaction to her job prevent her from ever wanting to make a friend again and she almost avoids people who try to talk to her. But she also seems to crave a connection. And she’s perfectly capable of interacting with people who are dying; it’s the living she seems to have issues with.
Clover’s job is to help those who are dying, but often it seems more like they help her. Some reviewers have seen this as a flaw. I disagree. I think that is what the whole book is about. Yes, it’s a book about death, but more than that it is a book about how to live life.
I give this book 4 stars.