“The Collected Regrets of Clover” by Mikki Brammer is a sweet and gentle story that gives us a thoughtful look at death…and life. Clover is a 36 year-old woman who is a death doula. While she provides comfort and solace to to those on their deathbed, she has never tried on her own life.

As we get to know Clover, we learn that she has lived a quiet life of routine. A small New York City apartment is her world, where she was raised by her grandfather after her parents died when she was 5. So she was always a quiet, private person. In a city as big and energetic as NYC, Clover lives a lonely life: she walks her dog, spies on her neighbors with binoculars, watches rom-come on tv and rereads her death notebooks. Life really never got started for Clover.

But then several new people enter her life and Clover shyly and awkwardly begins to see life in a different way. “Instead of asking why we’re here, maybe we should be savoring a simpler truth: We are here”. Will Clover take her first steps into a world of adventure and romance?

Although this seems to be a book about death, it is actually a book about discovering hope and how to lead a life that satisfies and nourishes. There is no definite grand moment or closure in this book. But we do sense a glimmer of hope for Clover.

This is a positive and pleasant debut novel. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance digital review copy. This is my honest review.

What a remarkable debut novel by Mikki Brammer! The Collected Regrets of Clover tells the story of Clover Brooks, a death doula, making her life in New York City. This well-written book explores the grieving process and the journey to move forward with the living. Although you would expect a morbid story, Brammer explores death with vigor!

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own.

I’ve never even thought about a death doula before in my life, yet Clover just made me love them so much. This is the most charming and endearing story about living and dying— A coming of age story with love, loss and loneliness, but it manages to be charming and sweet. Sure it rugs at your heart a few times, but I’d read this again and again. I absolutely loved this book!

Sigh, I’m sad that this story is over.

Grief doesn't leave any one untouched. Clover is a death doula who is dedicated to creating dignity and peace surrounding death. It is clear to see the love and respect she has for life. The author brought these feelings to the page.

I loved The Collected Regrets of Clover. It really makes you take a step back and think about the whole ordeal of death. Being a death doula, Clover is kind of an expert on death and the customs and traditions that come with it. I loved her relationships with both her grandfather and Leo, as well as the new relationships she begins with her new neighbor and Hugo. The characters were strong in this story, Clover being such a thoughtful and lovely character. I particularly enjoyed the regrets part of the story. Do you regret anything you did or maybe did not do in your life? I think we all do to some extent. She really cuts through that and helps people to try and fulfill a regret if she can. The plot was unique and engaging, my only complaint is I really did want the story to end. I look forward to reading more by this author.

The Collected Regrets of Clover was such a warm and comforting story about a death doula in New York City figuring out how to live. Although I felt the pacing was a bit slow at times, the book was overwhelm an enjoyable, quick read. I appreciated the honesty and grace that was used while exploring topics such as death and grief. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Clover open up to life and love and find her own confidence and strength. The Collected Regrets of Clover offered me a new perspective on death that I think many others would benefit from.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an e-ARC of this title.

The Collected Regrets of Clover is the debut novel from Mimi Brammer. Death is everywhere and Clover is no stranger. Death is her job.
A well written treasure trove of life and love and everything in between. Add this to your TBR!
05/09/2023

When I requested a copy of this book, I was intrigued by the subject - Death, in a fictional context. I’m so glad I read this wonderful and informative book.
Clover Brooks is 36, single, living in NY and she’s a death doula. As a birth doula welcomes a life into this world a death doula welcomes a life into the next. Clover has been brought up by an attentive grandfather but the words “I love you” aren’t spoken. The feelings are there but never voiced. And Clover finds that most of her “end of life” clients are often caught in the same place: loved but no one speaks about how they’ll pass.
When I began reading this book I have to admit I was a bit bored. Clover’s day to day life was mundane. Even though she was helping people pass over, her own life was lonely and uneventful. Then the pace picked up when Leo, Sebastian , a new neighbour and most of all, Claudia come into her life! Mikki Brammer does a fabulous job of bringing these characters to life and incorporating them into Clover’s.
Death isn’t an easy subject to discuss but I felt a peace come over me as Clover sat with her clients and helped ease their passage. Her job did prevent her from getting close to people in her personal life . Thank goodness there were good souls to give her sage advice.
I loved this book. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for my ARC. Highly recommend this touching read!

This was really, really good. I could see this being a book club pick! I think a lot of people are going to like this one.

"While I thought that I was learning to live, I have been learning how to die."

"It wasn't just the regrets of the dying people I was trying to resolve - it was my own."

This book had me drawn in from the beginning. Clover is a death doula. She helps a person to get closure and move on to peace when the time comes. She listens without judgement and truly cares.
A wonderful, engaging story about life, death, choices, and figuring out how to live without regrets.
I did shed some tears as I read.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book.

It seems like this is the third book about a death doula that I've read withing the last year. It's an interesting career and one that grows more necessary our health care system declines from caring to billing. Anyway, Clover is a 36-year-old who holds a master's degree in Thanatology, the study of death. Having been orphaned by the death of her (very detached) parents at the age of five she has been raised by her grandfather in a small apartment in the West Village.

Gifted in her caring and support of the dying, she is herself cut off from feelings and emotions herself. Perhaps that is a factor of her job or her life experience. Other than watching TV romances and her neighbors window across the street, she has not personal knowledge of romantic love.

The book is well written and interesting enough, yet not gripping enough to keep you turning pages. I found Clover and the other characters somewhat hard to relate to. I also had a problem with believability of coincidence in how Clover finally finds her connection and possible love. I did enjoy, however, the journals she keeps on the last words and regrets of her clients. I'd rate The Collected Regrets of Clover as closer to a 3 1/2 Star rating simply because of the writing and would certainly read the next Mikki Brammer book when it comes out.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for a chance to read and review this book before publication.

I was so intrigued by the premise of this novel and loved the ways in which the intended outcomes within the story are mirrored in how it performs for the reader. Clover, the protagonist of the story, wants to see people become more comfortable thinking and talking about death, and because of the accessibility of the writing here and the potential commercial appeal, the novel should have that affect for readers who have shied away from death prior to reading. Clover is also in love with romantic comedies, living through the characters on screen (and sometimes through the neighbors she spies on and creates a storyline for). The style of the novel is very rom com also, so there is the meta experience of that as well. Overall, an easy and pleasant read that makes me want to keep learning more about death doulas!

This is a strange book! And I am not sure if I actually liked it. The Collected Regrets of Clover basically deals with death. Clover is a death doula... seriously. I had never heard of this particular career. That part of the book was fascinating. Now Clover was the strange part. I'm not sure if she was on the autism spectrum or just totally screwed up but she is definitely interesting. This book is definitely worth your time. Mikki Brammer has a way with description. So many times while reading the story I had to stop and reread a description. I will probably go back and reread the story so I can highlight some of the descriptions. They are that good!
I voluntarily received a copy of this book from Netgalley.

This was my first book to read by this author but won't be my last! The story and its characters will stick with you long after you finish the story. Highly recommend!

Such an honest and realistic take on death, grief, and loneliness, which is so hard to find. That makes this book sound really sad, but it was actually mostly funny and relatable. I found myself agreeing with Clover, the main character, so many times - people DO seem to want you to "just get over" your grief and move on, it is so hard to make friends as an adult, and yes, talking about death can make people so uncomfortable!

I also appreciated how the new characters introduced in the book felt natural and realistic as well. Sometimes as soon as a new character is introduced you can anticipate the arc they will take and it takes away some of the joy of discovering what will happen next, but that was not the case at all here!

This was a lovely, big-hearted, poignant book. If you liked A Man Called Ove, The Midnight Library, or any other sort of quirky existential book, I think you’ll really enjoy this one. It had a charming cast of characters and tugged on my heartstrings with its touching depiction of grief, love, and trying to live a life worth celebrating.


Thank you to netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

Having been touched by the death of a dear friend semi-recently, I'll admit that at first I found this book a bit triggering. My own grief, mixed with the very real fear I think we all carry about someday facing our own deaths, made for an uncomfortable beginning to my read. But it was exactly those same things that kept me reading. I was curious about a character who, laden with her own grief, chooses to give comfort to those about to journey on. Clover is a really fascinating woman to get to know. Empathetic, yet shut down emotionally. Kind to others, yet cruel to herself. In love with love, yet never having fallen in love. I found myself cheering for this woman, who is so comfortable with death, to learn how to live. While there is heartbreak and loss in the pages of the novel, there is also a life affirming message about embracing the now to avoid regrets when our own end inevitably arrives.

I received an e-arc of this book through Netgalley. I really adored this book and was pulled in from the first page. Seeing her first death up close in Kindergarten seems to mark Clover for life. An interesting cast of characters and a lovely book about what life and death really mean.

I was completely absorbed amongst the pages and dear Clover's life. Clover hit very close to home for me. She is one who chose to live her life by observing much more than engaging. As one who does the same, I get it. We are simpatico, Clover. I see you! I am you! Of course, it leads to a small life, and that totally works for some people...until it doesn't. Clover chooses a profession in which she can help people with grace and dignity to the end of their lives. She keeps several notebooks with words of wisdom and regrets that her clients have expressed so that they are not forgotten. And she does her best to honor those words by putting the advice and regrets into actions. It's a beautiful thing, really. This story just made my heart sigh and when I turned the last page, it made me look at my own life and maybe take away a lesson or two myself.

4.75/5

“The secret to having a beautiful death is living a beautiful life.”

There’s something about listening to people’s death bed regrets that makes you paralyzed to live your own life. This, in a nutshell, feels like Clover’s life story.

After a traumatic experience and losing her parents at a young age and growing up with her introverted grandfather has left Clover uniquely talented at ushering people from this life to the next. Her career as a death doula let’s her help people through their last moments, giving them peace and closure and allows her to keep life at bay. But when a new client makes her question is she’s listening people’s regrets instead of having her own.

A lovely debut novel with characters that feel real, a solid read. It does get a bit off in pace and a little rambler, but it’s a the authors first and the premise is so interesting I almost didn’t mind.