Description
Book SynopsisThe other day, as I came out from the station, I caught a glimpse of dark hair and for a second, I thought it was you, Mina. So begins this searingly honest account, written by a psychotherapist, who returns from her summer vacation to discover that one of her patients has died unexpectedly: a young woman, with whom she had felt a particularly close connection. That day she carries on as normal, sees all her patients, only to wake in the middle of the night, sweating and shaking in the dark, and with the strangest sensation of falling. A rapid freefall ensues, a spiralling descent into grief and a kind of madness, as present and past collide and she begins to confront what she has always feared. A compelling narrative centred on death and love and loss, Do You Realize? raises profound and penetrating questions: What is grief? For who and what do we grieve when we lose somebody? and How do we live life fully and passionately, and yet, face up to death?
Trade ReviewA thought-provoking book: the fascination of its themes, and the delicacy of their handling, will stay with me for a long time. (Hilary Mantel, Author of Wolf Hall, Winner of the 2009 Man Booker Prize) A beautiful, poetic meditation on loss and grief, Marion Steel's book is both an exploration and a reflection of the mourning process. Going beyond the constraints of the usual academic studies, it is a moving, inspiring and thought-provoking work. (Darian Leader, Author of The New Black: Mourning, Melancholia and Depression and Why Do People Get Ill?)
