Description

Book Synopsis

Now I understand there are no ordinary lives that every death is the end of a single event in time's history: an event so improbable as to be miraculous, and irreplaceable in every particular.

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.

Death of an Ordinary Man

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    A Hardback by Sarah Perry

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      Book details

      Publisher Penguin Random House Group
      Imprint Vintage Publishing
      Published 1 February 2025
      ISBN-13 9781787336001
      978-1787336001
      ISBN-10 178733600X
      Also in:
      Non Fiction Biography Memoirs

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      Now I understand there are no ordinary lives that every death is the end of a single event in time's history: an event so improbable as to be miraculous, and irreplaceable in every particular.

      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.

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