Thanks to the publisher Icon Books Limited and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderfully erudite and informative treatise on darkness and its meanings. This book examines the science, cultural history, and the mythology of darkness mirroring this with a powerful description of her father’s experience of dementia and his own personal descent into darkness.

The book is divided into four sections – 1) New Moon, 2) Waxing, 3) Full Moon and 4) Waning.

Full of interesting facts and interwoven with the account of dementia’s devastating effect on the author's father makes this a really interesting book about a truly fascinating subject.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc. I really liked the concept of this book but struggled to finish it.

‘Into the Darkness’ is one of my favourite type of non-fiction books in that not only is it an interesting subject but each page is brimming full of information. Tackling the broad topic of darkness, Yallop explores what is it (we often define it as an absence of light but that does not answer the question of what darkness itself is). Using a mixture of science, history, literature and personal experience the book looks at how much darkness is a part of each day in more ways then we might immediately think of. I especially liked how the author combined the research and academic takes of others with her own personal experiences of both her childhood fear of the dark and how dementia changed her father’s relationship with it too. A great book from which you’ll come away knowing a lot more and intrigued to learn further in the future.

I sometimes joke that I must be part bat--usually when Bill asks me, 'How can you see?' I tell him that I can see just fine. I love the dark in its different gradations. I prefer night to day, cloudy days to sunny ones, and dim light to bright. I'm a night owl and I love the long nights of winter. With the exception of the occasional day of sun on a cold day, bright sunshine agitates me while grey days bring a calm feeling. I need light to read, stitch, or do other tasks at night, but I have a portable USB lamp and a headlamp that I can adjust to shine directly on the page or project, leaving the rest of the room dark. I never turn on the overhead lights. So when I saw this book, I was eager to read it. I'm so glad I did!

Jacqueline Yallop has paid attention to the dark since she was 7 or 8 years old and on holiday, spending a night in a farmhouse. It was the first time she ever experienced real darkness--not the kind I described above, but a deep dark that prevented her from seeing the hand in front of her face. From that moment, she was fascinated and paid attention to the dark. This interest only deepened when her father was diagnosed with dementia. One of the things that changed for him was his relationship to the dark. His experience was the opposite of my own. Bright light calmed him and even the fading light of dusk agitated him. He would turn on every light in the house every night. The author knew she could not fully understand her father's experience, but she decided to try to get as close as she could by investigating the dark. What are the ideas we have about the dark? How do we 'see' the dark? How do our bodies process light and dark? This excellent book is the result of her investigation. She observes and cares for her father. She takes herself to unfamiliar places on very dark nights and is very aware of what she is feeling in an attempt to get a little bit closer to understanding the new terrain he is having to navigate.She draws on human experience, biology, philosophy, literature, poetry, visual art, popular culture, folklore, architecture, language, and culture. Her writing is beautiful and often lyrical. There were times I stopped and let the words just sink in.

The book is structured in chapters that go along with the phases of the moon--waxing, full moon, waning--and also her father's progression through dementia. This book is so well written and is such a joy to read.