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.

Geraldine Brooks writes a beautifully written, interestingly organized memoir to honor the memory of her husband and process his sudden death. Science supports this notion of writing to heal, and Geraldine invites us to witness her use of this medium as she recounts her healing steps. Married to author Tony Horowitz for over 30 years, she was stunned to receive the unimaginable phone call telling her her beloved had died of a massive heart attack while he was away on a book tour. After three years of trying to keep busy and do her life as usual,' she concluded that the only way her grief was lesson a bit was to go through it. She arranged a lengthy stay in a remote dwelling on Flinders Island, part of the State of Tasmania, Australia, to do the work. In addition to sharing this intimate story of her love and loss, she includes her unpleasant experiences within our medical systems. She offers suggestions for increased compassion within our institutions and preparedness within our partnerships.

A lovely tribute to her talented husband, Tony Horwitz and a recounting of her path through grieving his untimely death and the loss of their lives together.

This beautiful memoir captures both the pain and the love in Geraldine's beloved husband's passing. She talks about the practical; planning a memorial and figuring out their finances and the process of learning to live without him. She finds herself on a small island in Tasmania where her isolation surrounded by natural beauty brings her closer to her husband as she begins to process life without him. This is a very honest account of his death including his writing habits that may have contributed to his early passing. I honor her candor and respect for her reader.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking/Penguin for the advanced readers copy.

A beautifully crafted memoir written by a talented author at the top of her game. Memorial Days is a story of love and grief, of connectedness and loneliness, and of lives well lived. Those who choose to read this book will leave its pages feeling enriched by the honor of traveling with Geraldine Brooks through some of the most intimate times in her life. Thank you to NetGalley and to Viking for providing the opportunity to review this powerful and personal portrayal of what it means to be deeply human.

Geraldine Brooks is one of my favorite authors and this book gives us even more to love - a window into her soul as she grieves the loss of her husband. The book takes us back and forth from the day of Tony Horwitz's death and the immediate aftermath, to a time four years later when she allowed herself to mourn by retreating to a remote Australian island.

Brooks found after Horwitz's untimely death that she was completely unprepared for the onslaught of things to be done. Because both Brooks and Horwitz are well known authors with friends and colleagues around the world, Brooks had to share her grief with dozens, even hundreds of people who contacted her, visited, and attended memorial events. At the same time, she was getting treated insensitively by officials who denied her the opportunity to identify her husband's body and see him one last time and dealing with the practical matters of erasing a soul from the earth..

During her retreat to Finders Island in Australia, Brooks allowed herself the chance to finally grieve, in her own time and space. She writes eloquently about grief customs in other cultures, and, without judgement, compares them to American life and death. It is interesting to read about various mourning practices - is one right and another wrong? She does not draw conclusions, except to affirm that the grief process needs time and space, and she makes the most of both of these.

Having lost two dear family members in the past year, I was in the right place to read this beautiful book, and I'm going to recommend it to everyone. It's being compared to Joan Didion's A Year of Magical Thinking, and although the topic is similar, I think Brooks stands in her own space. Although the topic is sad, Brooks writes honestly, clearly and thoughtfully and chooses to deliberately move through her grief instead of denying it or being trapped by it. I admire her courage in writing this. Many thanks to Viking and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advance reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is a beautiful tribute to Tony Horowitz and Geraldine's grieving over her husband's death. Going back and forth between the actual experience and her time on Flinders Island was powerful. I loved the book and will recommend it to others.

When I first heard about this book I couldn’t wait to read it. Turns out that was for good reason. I had never read Brooks before but was very interested in her foray into nonfiction. On Memorial Day in 2019 her well known husband, Tony Horwitz, suddenly dies from a cardiac event. This is her grief journey as she confronts his passing 3 years later. Often those grieving aren’t given the time and space to process their loss which leads to complicated grief. Her ability to find the space and time and tell us about their life together, his tragic death and her reaction is chronicled in a powerful, heartfelt, and well written way. This book deserves a place next to “A year of magical thinking” and it is also an amazing way to honor her husband. I would definitely recommend this book!