For those of us who are truly devotees of Geraldine Brooks’ work, Memorial Days takes up where the afterword to Horse left off, "Tony died suddenly on book tour, not long after speaking to an enthusiastic audience at the Filson in Louisville. My partner in love and in life, I miss him every day.”

On Memorial Day 2019, Tony Horwitz collapsed and died on the street in Washington, D.C. at the age of 60. He was gregarious, adventurous and an extremely talented journalist. His sudden death left a gaping hole in Ms. Brooks’ life. Religious and cultural rituals were of little comfort and the melancholy that swept over her was difficult to escape. Thus, 3 years after her husband’s death, all the bureaucratic details of life and death get in the way, she has yet to confront her grief. Finally, she retreats to a remote island off of her native Australia to find solace.
While Ms. Brooks’ writing is always compelling, this memoir is unique in the manner in which she conveys a deeply personal and sensitive portrayal of grief with which many readers will identify.

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Random House Publishing for an early copy of Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks

Writing as a huge fan of Geraldine Brook's fictional works (presently on my third audio encounter with People of the Book and recommend Horse ad nauseum) and having met Tony Horwitz at a Midwestern book signing of Midnight Rising, it was a natural for me to request Memorial Days, Brooks's both gentle and firm account of coming to terms with the sudden death of her spouse of over thirty years. Brooks meshes past and present, quiet nature with war-torn land and personal with professional life while struggling and triumphing through a situation she never expected and was unprepared for.

The author takes up life on a remote island of Australia where she believes she will be able to properly grieve for her late husband. The process leads her to reexamine precious moments with her husband all over the world as journalists, to read from the many journals he kept during his own life and rejoice in the family time together on Martha's Vineyard. Geraldine Brooks does not succumb; rather, she finds the higher ground so that she can honor the time she was given with Tony.

Memorial Days is not really a book to give to someone who is grieving for a spouse. Because of the myriad ways that Brooks looks at life, this is a kind of epistle for all who love.

What a beautiful book. Touching, sad, sentimental, but never sappy. I also appreciate the practical advice for handling grief, something we must all learn to do. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Geraldine Brooks takes us into her world for a raw and realistic view of grieving when her husband, journalist Tony Horwitz, died completely unexpectedly at the age of 60. In a back and forth narrative that spans the first moments and months after his death to the solitary trip she eventually takes three years later to come to terms with her grief, Brooks is vulnerable and honest. Her writing provides not just keen insight into the grieving process but also practical advice for those who find themselves in a similar situation. Memorial Days is a powerful testament to enduring love and the human capacity to heal. Highly recommended.
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks

Geraldine Brooks’ “Memorial Days” is a tender, and beautifully heartfelt outpouring of love and grief for her dear husband Tony Horwitz. It begins on the day of his sudden death while on a book tour in Washington, D.C. She speaks to the horror of finding out by a telephone call from a harried emergency room doctor and then trying to get off of an island on a busy holiday. The importance of getting in touch with her two sons before they find out by someone else of their famous father’s death. A nightmare none of us hopes to ever be in.
There is joy in this book. Sweet memories of love, family, friends and work they shared. A love and a life shared.
This book has so many important things for us to learn. The importance of leaving instructions for family members, changing the healthcare system that does not accommodate the grieving is a very big issue. Letting others know it is okay to talk about the person who died. Giving yourself room to grieve. Taking time away from others to allow yourself to really feel the hurt. This book was important to me because I have already chosen a place for myself to go and grieve after. We all need to have that personal space. After a death of someone close, we need to reinvent our life from that moment on.

I have loved Geraldine Brooks's writing for many years, and believe she is brilliant, courageous, and gifted at thinking (and writing) outside the proverbial box. This gorgeous memoir proves me right.

I'm not one to dig into the lives of my favorite authors, because I think their work stands alone and separate, so it wasn't until I read Horse that I discovered that Brooks was married to Tony Horwitz (another favorite writer). Her love for him rings clear throughout this book, as well as the pain and utter disorientation that a sudden death and grief can hit a person with. It rings out through the way she describes him in these pages--his true, actual self, rather than the self we see in his own eyes and words, the observer. The way she describes putting a stopper on grief in order to deal with the cruelly impersonal bureaucracy of death. The way she removes herself, finally, to a place she may have once lived, had she not met him--and how she immerses herself not only in the grief and the memories, but also in the beauty around her.

This book is brave and beautiful, enlightening and frightening. It makes us take another look at how we approach death and grief, and gives us some insight into how we can make it easier for others.

I didn't know much about the author before starting this book besides that I have read a couple of her books. I wanted to read it because I am also dealing with a sudden loss and wanted to read about someone else's " journey towards peace". Without giving any spoilers there were a few jaw dropping moments in this book that I think most people need to hear. Things you never expect to deal with after someone dies. I do have to admit I felt it ended rather suddenly. Maybe I was just reading it too fast but I was shocked when I swiped (this was an advance copy of the eBook) and the next chapter was an afterword. If I had been reading the print book then I would have known the end of coming. So who knows if it was me or the book. But I felt the ending was rushed. I expected more.

When Geraldine Brooks’ husband Tony Horowitz dies unexpectedly, Brooks uses her writing skills to help her come to terms with her loss. Set between Memorial Day 2019 and her escape to Flinders Island in 2023, she shares with us her grief at the time of Tony’s death and how she finally was able to process this life altering event. Brooks writing feels very personal. She tells their love story and adventures along with the real details often faced after a death. The nitty gritty of settling an estate shared along with the realization of how fortunate she is to be able to take the time to really grieve, an opportunity which many do not have the luxury or ability to do. Similar to Joan Didion’s the Year of Magical Thinking, maybe I’m in a different place in my life but found Brooks story more relatable .Thank you #NetGalley and #PenguinGroupVikingPenguin for the ARC of #MemorialDays.

This is a lovely meditation on the unexpected death of her husband and the reserves she found to grieve and learn how to move forward.

Memorial Days is a moving meditation on grief and love and intertwined lives. It also serves as an indictment about how the health care system (and other bureaucracies) in the U.S. can fail us in our times of extremity and a fascinating look at the career trajectories of two inordinately talented writers. Oh, and descriptions of nature on the sparsely-populated island Brooks goes to in order to process her grief make me want to go to Australia (or to find a similarly-deserted and beautiful area to process whatever emotions I'm experiencing). As I expected, Brooks's writing is phenomenal. I've read all of her novels and the prose in this memoir is sparser and obviously more personal but it retains the elegance and power she always brings to the page. In short, this is a short memoir that packs a punch. I'll recommend it highly.

A heartfelt and tender memoir of dealing with death of a spouse and the grieving process. Geraldine Brooks’ husband, Tony Horwich, died abruptly while Geraldine was away and completing her novel Horse. In this memoir she recounts the days of confusion and sadness as she prepares for his funeral and then her decision, three years later, to take a sojourn to deal with her grief that had never found expression. This book is a fitting tribute to her husband’s work as an author and journalist and a tender remembrance and recognition of the story of their love and the life they shared.
Brooks provides insight into the writing life and in this highly descriptive and beautifully written tribute, an encompassing lesson in grief and healing.
Highly recommended for all audiences.

Heartbreakingly sad but beautifully written, Geraldine Brooks writes a love letter to her husband and their relationship until his death.

5 stars! A short, poignant memoir that I truly loved. The author moves from the past to the present to relate how she dealt with the death of her husband and the love of her life. Grieving is a process and Brooks teaches the reader as she takes us on her journey.

This was an excellent book of her grieving, but very hard for me to read and stay in the present. I’ve been married for 28 years and been with my husband 31 years. I couldn’t help but think ‘I would be devastated’. What a gift for Geraldine to have her husband’s journals. Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Penguin Random House for giving me the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

Brooks' memoir of the days following her husband's death is heartfelt and wrenching. It draws attention to the flaws in our systems, from robotic notification to the inability to have time alone with the person who has died. Brooks realized that she hadn't taken the time to grieve when her husband died, so three years later she forced herself to immerse herself in all the feelings.
Memorial Days joins the books by Joyce Carol Oates and Joan Didion that are testaments to great love and devastating loss.

I have been a fan of Brooks for many years now and it is always a joy to see her craft grow. I was so delighted to see a memoir from her so I could get to know this beloved author more, and it did not disappoint.

In this courageous memoir, Pulitzer-Prize winner Brooks writes in beautiful prose, with sharp insight, and even some humor. Not only does Brooks dissect her own grieving process over the unexpected death of her husband, but she incorporates processes from various sources, from Kubler-Ross’ five stages of grief, to aboriginal grieving rituals. Also addressed is the callousness with which the medical and legal systems interact with those left bereft. A worthy read.

I felt honored and thrilled to be able to read this galley before publication publication. It truly is a love story told in a most unusual forma.t.
I have always enjoyed Ms Brooks books but this one is by far one of her most moving. . Not only did I feel her grief on the loss of her husband, I was interested on how she coped with his death. Ms Brooks such a beautiful way with words. I realize her grief will be always with her, but hopefully by writing this book she will allow the reader to help shoulder her load. I erally liked this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As a student of all things to do with ‘End of Life’, I was fascinated to get Geraldine’s perspective on the sudden loss of her husband, soulmate and the love of her life. I respect the courage it took to disengage and to heal some of her grief on Flinders Island. I loved how the story toggled between the two worlds, one immediately after Horwitz’ loss of life, and one many years later to take precious time to reflect. As an advocate for how our society can do better with the journey through EoL, I appreciated her wisdom and her willingness to share to hopefully lighten the load of grief for others. I have read all of Ms Brook’s books. I am now interested in reading the work of her husband, Tony Horwitz, who sounds like a gem of a human being. Grateful the opportunity to get to read this before release , so I can hype it to my reading world friends.

Wow this is such a heartbreaking read. Geraldine Brooks writes so beautifully and now we get to hear her story of the loss of her husband and her dealing with her grief.
I liked the dual timelines, and seeing Geraldine in both the before and after. We see her grow and change in Australia and try to make sense of this tragedy and the grief. The way she describes the landscape is amazing, And you can feel the pain she is feeling. As we have all dealt with grief at some point I think this is a read that many can relate to. This is a beautiful read.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.