Wow! What a book - I loved it! Such a different theme but one that I found really thought provoking. Clover is a wonderful character who does such an amazing job, that you can't help but hope that she finds herself. She is so busy caring emotionally for everyone else that she doesn't deal with what she should be in her own life. I was so happy with the outcome - it was all that she deserves after all she has been through.

Am I going to live my life differently now, having read this book? Maybe not, but at the same time, I am already thinking about what I might regret if I was at the end of my days, so perhaps it has had more impact that I thought! I can't recommend this book highly enough - read it!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review, which is what I have given.

The life-affirming, soul- uplifting book I never knew I needed. An excellent story, characters to love, beautifully written and touching- I binged it in a day.

Clover is a Death Doula and this book tells her story during a period of self reflection and self discovery. It made me stop and think about life and the priorities that we choose. Clover has collected the regrets and advice of people she's worked with and this is a peak into her thoughts on some of those.

The Collected Regrets Of Clover is the first novel by Australian-born author, Mikki Brammer. As a New York City death doula, thirty-six-year-old Clover Brooks has held a lot of dying hands; she’s listened to a lot of last words and, as a mark of respect, noted down regrets, advice and confessions.

Her kindergarten teacher, Mr Hyland was the first dying hand she held. She was interested more than upset. When she was six, her parents’ accidental death in China put her in the care of her grandfather, Patrick. Having been absent for much of his own daughter’s childhood, he took the chance to get it right with Clover, raising her to be have a strong moral compass and developing her observational skills.

It’s an unusual vocation to have and, to avoid negative reactions, she doesn’t tend to broadcast it: most people are uncomfortable talking about death. Patrick’s death, alone, while Clover was overseas, was the impetus for this choice: if Clover can prevent others dying alone, she will. Her referrals come from social workers and hospital staff.

She sees her role as being present, listening, not turning away from the painful aspects of dying. It means helping someone die with dignity and peace. Sometimes it’s just about them not being alone or helping them get their affairs in order before they go. Other times it’s about helping them reflect back on their lives and work through any unresolved issues.

She doesn’t try to make them focus on all the positive things about their life— all the things they should be grateful for; it isn’t her job to help them gloss over that reality if they don’t want to; it is to sit with them, listen, and bear witness.

Clover lives with her dog and two cats and, in between clients, doesn’t really have a social life. Raised by an introverted grandfather and with a few negative relationship experiences, Clover is wary: “Observing the world, rather than engaging with it, meant I didn’t have to invest emotionally. If I never got close to anyone, they couldn’t leave me. Or it wouldn’t hurt if they did.” Her only real friend is her elegant, elderly Black neighbour in their West Village apartment block, Leo. When a young woman, Sylvie moves into a vacant apartment, she seems intent on friendship with Clover: is it worth taking a chance?

She regularly frequents one of the numerous death cafes in New York: an idea had developed by a Swiss sociologist named Bernard Crettaz as a way of normalizing conversations around death. It’s at the Public Library death café that she first encounters Sebastian Wells, whose grandmother is dying. She’s not entirely convinced he’s genuine, to start with, wondering if he’s a predator scamming vulnerable people.

But eventually, she agrees to keep his grandmother, former photojournalist, Claudia Wells, company as she lives her last weeks and days. Claudia is an interesting and fiesty woman whose one regret involves a certain young man she met in Corsica shortly before she married.

It seems that Sebastian might be interested in more than a professional relationship but, lacking instinct and experience, she wonders how to tell if this time it might work out OK. Driving seven hours to Maine with Sebastian to possibly track down Claudia’s past lover gives Clover mixed messages about their potential compatibility…

What a fascinating topic Brammer has chosen for her tale, not a comfortable one for all readers, but definitely worth exploring. Her characters are complex and appealing for all their very human flaws and foibles, and she gives them wise words and insightful observations: “The secret to a beautiful death is living a beautiful life” and “Don’t let the best parts of life pass you by because you’re too scared of the unknown. Be cautiously reckless” are examples.

This is a moving, thought-provoking and uplifting debut novel and more from Brammer is eagerly anticipated.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Penguin General/Viking

This is stunning.
I haven’t cried hard at a book for a very very long time and this was just so sad but also so joyful.
This book follows our MC Clover who is a death doula. We follow her as she goes about her ‘day job’ but more specifically we follow her as she works with one lady: Claudia. Clover helps Claudia and her grandson, Sebastian, come to terms with the fact that Claudia has terminal cancer. We also learn that Clover was on the other side of the world when her grandad passed away and this basically led her into her line of work and we see how she copes with her grief.
Stunning. You need to read it

Blimey. I guess I should start this review by admitting I cried while reading it. More than once.

I actually chose to read this book because I have a massive fear of death. It seems to creep into my mind countless times a day and then I get little panics. It’s the whole knowing you’re not immortal, but not being able to understand that.

This book follows Clover, a death doula, who feels more comfortable surrounding herself with the dying than the living. She keeps three notebooks—ADVICE, CONFESSIONS, REGRETS—where she collects her clients’ last words. With the help of a new friend who pushes her out of her comfort zone, she embarks on a journey to try to help one of her clients not pass away with a massive regret still hanging over her.

“It frustrated me that society was so determined to quantify grief, as if time could erase the potency of love. Or, on the other hand, how it dictated that grief for someone you knew fleetingly should be equally as fleeting.”

Leo (Clover’s best friend) was my favourite character. He spoke so much wisdom and added another point of view to the story: as a widower of many years, he spoke about how your view on death changes once you hit a certain age, when your partner has long died and most of your friends are dead too. He seemed to tug at my heart every time he made an appearance in the story.

I didn’t expect to find Clover relatable, I was just intrigued by the book's subject matter, so I was surprised to find myself drawn to her. Trauma and grief affect people in many different ways, and she picked the path she did as her way of coping.

For me, although death was present the whole way through, this book contained so much more than that. With a variety of characters, tons of advice and lessons, an easy reading style and a thought-provoking subject matter, this book is a must-read.

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

Thank you to NetGalley, Mikki Brammer and Viking.

Firstly, I think that cover deserves a mention. It is beautiful and arty and inside is beautifully written to encapsulate readers.

The book is poignant and emotional. Clover has, perhaps a strange job. She works with people at the other end of the scale of life. They’re at death’s door. There is the divulging of their most inner thoughts, their regrets and so forth. She takes notes, she tries to help. It is quite captivating in its unusualness. 

She meets Claudia whose life is amazing, as she says herself. She is in her 90’s, but even she with her fulfilled life as a photo journalist, before retirement, has a regret. It sends Clover on quite an adventure. This also shows her that life, even though, a contented one, in quiet, almost isolation, can be opened up with more to be explored, in the very much living world. She discovers she can come out of her comfort zone and expand her horizons.

It’s a poignant in that it is partly about how you should try to to live life to the fullest that you possibly can.

It is a thought provoking book that is emotional as it tackles grief, but around all that, it is also heartwarming about life and truly living it without regret and if there is, then seeing if that can be remedied and not taking things for granted that you do experience in life.

I really enjoyed this book and fell utterly in love with Clover from the first chapter. Her boundless compassion for those she works with and her devotion to her late Grandfather and her upstairs neighbour Leo along with her introversion made me want to mother her. I had heard of death doula’s before but never anticipated a novel being written with one at its heart. I’m very pleased it has been written as more people need to know about their valuable work and more people would probably like to be one once they know of their existence.
I loved how Clover found that people’s last words could be divided into the three categories of Advice, Regrets and Confessions and I think Brammer is right on the money with those being the things people most want to say at the end. Reading this book made me think a great deal about how I would find staring death in the face and who would be with me and which category would my last words fit into?
A great book, slightly let down for me by the ending feeling a little rushed.

Beautifully written with lots of comic interlude s.

You cannot help but fall in love with Clover.

Great characterisation with a well thought out plot that flowed nicely.

I didn’t want my mini romance with Clover to end.

Highly recommended 5 stars from me.

Despite the morbid subject matter, this novel was truly life-affirming. It was written in a quiet, tender way, yet its introspection was still thought-provoking.

Clover was a wonderful heroine. She was characterised by her intrinsic kindness and unwavering morality. She was so giving and considerate, dedicating her life to helping others leave theirs with dignity and compassion. This made the beginning of the story all the more sad, because at that point, loneliness was routine for Clover. I deeply sympathised with the isolation Clover must have felt, desperately wanting to watch her form lasting connections. She couldn’t let herself move on from her grief and guilt over her beloved grandpa’s death. Their relationship was so sweet and Clover clearly adored him.

Each time Clover encountered a new person, I thought of them as some kind of angel sent to help her, but of course they soon showed themselves to be the layered and complicated people that they were. Luckily, some did prove to be the true friends she so desperately needed.

Overall, this unassuming yet powerful novel was led by such a kind heroine who can’t help but root for. It took me on a journey through all the emotions, ending with a feeling of hope.

Most of us don’t want to look death in the eye. We prefer to pretend it doesn’t exist and push away thoughts of it until it’s too late to deny the gritty reality. Not so for Clover, whose occupation as a Death Doula brings her face to face with death and dying on a regular basis.

“It was my honor to do that—to look them in the eye and acknowledge their hurt, to let it exist undiluted—even when the sadness was overwhelming. Even when my heart was breaking for them.”

Her gift is to accompany the dying as they make their exit. She brings kindness, care, compassion, and a listening ear to those who might otherwise die alone. Their gift to her is insight and understanding into the human condition and the regrets they might have on leaving this world.

“The most important thing is never to look away from someone’s pain. Not just the physical pain of their body shutting down, but the emotional pain of watching their life end while knowing they could have lived it better.”

Clover maintains records under the headings of wishes, regrets and confessions, and sees it as her task to try to be an accepting, calming presence in their final hours and carry out their final requests, if possible. One of those missions ends up being life changing for her.

It turns out that Clover has some unaddressed regrets of her own, ones that begin to surface as she opens herself more to others. She’s been living under the weight of unacknowledged grief since her grandfather, who helped raise her, passed away. She eventually comes to see that “Grief is just love looking for a place to settle.”

Sebastian, Claudia and Hugo help expand her narrow vision, encourage her to embrace hope, and move forward once more. This is a beautifully written book, full of profound insights and deep understanding of loss. Grateful thanks to Penguin General, Viking and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thirty-something Clover Brooks works as a Death Doula in New York. Her job essentially consists of easing people out of this life - comforting them, taking down their last wishes, keeping them company. Clover records what she learns from this process under 3 headings - advice, regrets and confession.

But spending her time with people who're dying is not why Clover doesn't have much of a life herself. No, the latter is the result of Clover's choices. Her social life is arid, almost non-existent, and in her spare time, she likes to watch movies and attend death cafes.

Clover's interest in death began early in life - when her kindergarten teacher died in front of her. After her grandfather, who brought her up, passed away when Clover was travelling the world at the age of 23, it further deepened her preoccupation with this aspect of life.

But it is after a death cafe meeting with her grandson leads to Clover's introduction to 91 year old Claudia - who is terminally ill but determined to get something done before her final farewell - that Clover finds herself in circumstances both unexpected and unfamiliar in her career as a Death Doula. Will the way that Claudia has chosen to live her vibrant life influence Clover's rather lacklustre approach to living?

For a story that features a lot of discussions on death, this book is an enjoyable and uplifting read. While some aspects of Clover's personality can seem contradictory and kind of annoying, her story is a sweet one and leaves the reader on a note of hope as well as an understanding of the importance of living life to the fullest.

What an absolutely delightful story!! Loved it so much. Charming with so much heart but also insightful.
Clover is a death doula, being with those who are dying, which sounds dreadful but it turns out to be a wonderful service. Beautifully written and a marvellous read. Congratulations of Mikki Brammer as The Collected Regrets of Clover tops my list of best books read this year.

Highly recommended read.


This review is based on a complimentary copy from Penguin General, Viking via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#TheCollectedRegretsofClover #NetGalley #HarperCollinsAu

They say that you must not be afraid of death to be ready to live. Clover is the one who helps people in the last moments of their life, she deals with death everyday and she's happy with her life.
The Claudia happens and Clover starts to live at full speed.
I enjoyed this story even if the idea of a death doula is so removed from my personal experience, Italian culture is quite different that found hard to understand and couldn't help feeling sorry for those people dying without any loved one next to them.
That said I enjoyed how life and death mixes and how life can spring from death.
Clover is well plotted character and the story is both poignant and heartwarming.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A remarkable novel that makes you think carefully about your own responses to living life and death. The characters are well-developed and interesting. Clover is a very amenable MC and I really did empathise with her.

A slow start however, stick with it as it is quite beautiful. The story follows Clover, a death doula who finds it hard to form relationships with people, unless she is helping them pass over. She records their final words in one of her three notebooks — Regrets, Advice and Confessions. Clover meets Sebastian at a death cafe’ and agrees to take his dying Grandmother on as a client, her friendship with Claudia helps Clover take stock of her own life.
I found this to be an uplifting and thought provoking read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General, Viking for the opportunity to read and review this beautiful book.

This was an enjoyable and insightful read. I found it a little slow to get going, but I couldn't help but feel for Clover, whose own losses had caused her to cut herself off and live vicariously through her work as a death doula. Once that work led to real lasting relationships and a new neighbour became her friend, her carefully constructed isolation began to fall apart.
Watching Clover's development throughout the book was very satisfying. A great read for anyone who values real emotions and believable endings.

This book took me by surprise and wrenched my heart. It's a slice of life type of story but with death at its center. It moved me deeply and I will recommend it to everyone.

This book. So beautiful on so many levels. With so much depth. It brings out so many emotions as you read it. It is so alive, so vivid.
The writing is beautiful also, and the main character, Clover, is such a beautiful soul.
This is one of those books where I really can’t find the right words to describe it. It is heartbreakingly beautiful, profound and, once it’s out and available for purchase everywhere, I will be recommending it to everyone, literally everyone who reads.

I really enjoyed this book. This is a book about death, or rather about a character whose life revolves around death. Clover Brooks is 36 years old, she lived with her grandfather in New York since her parents died when she was 6 years old, and after he died she remained in their Brownstone keeping all his belongings. Clover has a masters degree in thanatology (great quiz question) and works as a death doula, someone who spends their last days with the dying and helps them with anything they need to make their death better for them and those they leave behind. Sounds morbid doesn’t it? But strangely it really wasn’t.

Briefly, always a loner Clover finds peace in helping others and fulfilling their regrets but she wonders what it would be like to have a real boyfriend. She meets Sebastian and they ‘date’ but it’s clear he isn’t the one but he asks her to meet his grandmother who is dying and she agrees.

This should have been a sad and quite dark read but it was uplifting and full of hope. I didn’t warm to Clover immediately but as the book progressed I was rooting for her to sort out her life and open herself to new experiences. A wonderful poignant story that had me engrossed from start to finish. I loved it.