Jaclyn Michelle Smith offers a refreshingly honest and lighthearted look at the ironies of the human condition, reminding us all that laughter truly is the best medicine. Whether you're grappling with loss or simply seeking a new perspective on life's ups and downs, I’m Sorry I Cremated You is a must-read for anyone in need of a little laughter and a lot of heart.

As someone who has lost a parent, this author hit on the roller coaster of emotions you go through. I also appreciate that she gave a real representation of her parents while they were alive. I think sharing their flaws and hers made the book relatable.

I gave the book 4 stars because I found myself skimming the improv parts. I know it was in there to weave the story together but I found myself just wanting to get back to the characters and stories in her life.

I adored this book. I recently lost my brother to suicide and we ended up cremating him, so much of this memoir resonates so deeply with me that half the time of reading I wasn't sure if I was crying so much I was laughing or laughing so hard I was crying. I felt so seen and understood in my grief. It was a great exorcise in feeling your feels after a devastating loss, but learning to cope and move forward with life.

This book immediately drew me in. Everyone grieves differently and I certainly use humor, too. Sometimes we just have to laugh at the absurdities of life or we'll never make it through. The way the author explained her incredibly challenging experiences with both her parents was relatable, humorous, but also emotional. I laughed, yes, but I also cried. I'm glad there wasn't more hardship to share, but I could have kept reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Advantage Books for sending me this ARC.

This book really reels you in from the get go. The humor is very reminiscent of Jeanette McCurdy in a lot of ways. I think the story telling was engaging and really really really funny.

death is a topic that is hard to grasp, and I think Jaclyn really encapsulate what grief looks like to and for a lot of people. this book really made me emotional and had me thinking about the harsh realities of what someone who has alz/dementia had to deal with.

obviously this type of book is not the thing I usually go for, but it was a good introspective book that was very engaging!

I'm Sorry I Cremated You is a story about Jaclyn's father, dealing with his dementia, and how she handled his death. While billeted as dealing with these tough issues with humor, the tie-ins to improv didn't really hit right for me. Each chapter started with an improv concept and the author also mentions how her improv group helped her manage her grief on occasion, but there wasn't much else outside of those statements. Grief is a tough thing and this may resonate with others, but it wasn't for me. While marketed as a humor book, I would caution that this is more of a story of dealing with the death of a parent with limited humor. Read carefully should you choose to endeavor into this. I'd rate as 2.75 (if portions of stars were available).

I appreciate the opportunity from NetGalley and Advantage books to read an advanced reader copy.

What a beautiful read. Living through life’s hardships is one thing, but putting it all out on paper for the world to see? Courageous, beautiful, and admirable. Thank you Jaclyn for sharing such intimate pieces of your life.

2.5 ⭐️. while i SOBBED uncontrollably reading certain sections of this, i felt like there was a lot of editing that needed to pull this book together.

i felt so deeply for the author and her journey—it had me reliving a lot of my personal experiences with grief, death and caring for someone during the end of this life.

TY to NetGalley & Advantage Books for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you have endured the death of your parents you will identify with the emotions contained within this wonderful book.

The author discusses the deaths of her mother and father (mainly her dad), this involves their illnesses, their deaths, attending and organising the funerals and the 100 other things a surviving child needs to do, to get things done and to survive.

This isn’t all grim, there are laughs. For those of you, who have been at the very bottom of the misery and emotional well during the death of your mum and /or dad, you may too recall times of hopeless laughter – I did. But, just thinking about it makes me want to cry too. That’s what it’s like.

This person took up improvisation acting classes, something she loved. I took up stage IV cancer when dad died, which resulted in me taking up reading seriously, one of the best things I’ve ever done. We all find ways.

This book is enriching, warm, funny and sad and I highly recommend it. Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

October 2024:
Author @jaclynmichellesmith
Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC
Published: October 2024
Publisher: Advantage Media Group

Again, thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book ahead of the publishing date. I think it's funny that I finished this book the day after I attended a palliative care conference. I thought it was 100% hilarious that of course I got this book to review while planning to go and then attending this conference. This book does highlight the importance of good hospice and palliative care and how the right staff and supportive services can help a family through the grieving process. But that's my little soapbox take it or leave it.

I finished this book yesterday while sitting at a wine shop down the street from me. Did I Ugly cry in front of my friend for a slight second? Yes. Was I ashamed absolutely not. When the author wrote, "This isn't about me though. This is about him. I will not act scared. I will be calm as I walk him out of this life. "Go be with mom", I quietly whisper. Then he takes his last breath." TEARED UP SO FAST. I turned my book to my friend and was like, JUST READ THIS PART. She is like why are you doing this to yourself? And I think that the answer to that is because this is real. This is life and to read a beautiful book about what it is to travel through this journey with your parents is important.

There were so many highlights in this book for me that I wish I could write every quote that I was nodding my head to it'd be like, yep, yep...YES!! I think that for anyone who's gone through this sort of journey this book would be a nice way to understand and to know that other people feel the way that you do. I really think that it touched over the importance of what is a good death and how that happens and what it takes. And also the toll that it takes on the family. It's not an easy fun read. But it's an important lesson.

I would recommend reading this book.

I laughed. I cried. If you've been through a similar loss, readers will appreciate Smith's candid honestly and humor. Sometimes situations are just so tragic and heartbreaking that the only thing left to do is cry and then find the humor in the absurdity of the situation.

Make sure you have a fresh box of Kleenex with you as you read this awesome book. I was swallowed up by a mountain of snot rags by the time I was done reading
This memoir of sorts is about a woman's journey through the caretaking of her dad. I am at the same stage with my husband. The author has a special way about her and how she tells a sad story but makes it interesting and at times funny. She gave herself permission to be on with ok things that suck. She found an awesome outlet by, of all things, improv! I laugh the whole time Who's Line Is It Anyway is on. I can see where this could be helpful. I learned a lot from her. I'm glad I read it but like I said please be sure to have tissues.

First of all I want to say that this book is very well written. It threw me off guard a bit because based on the title and description I was expecting more of a “dark comedy” (it’s categorized as humor/satire). I somehow thought the humor would be cathartic for me as someone who recently lost a parent.
The book was good, it really made me feel what the writer was going through during that time in her life which is the whole point, right? It just wasn’t what I was expecting and while there were parts of the story that were funny I would have categorized it a bit differently.

A lot of that probably has to do with my personal perspective because after losing my mom, going through what she did with her dad sounds like my worst nightmare.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was really good. I laughed. I smiled. I cringed. I cried. I cried a lot. Maybe it was because I had a grandfather with dementia that this book hit me so hard, or maybe it is because I was able to envision a lot of things I experience with my own ageing father.

Sometimes the book jumped to a past memory and then came back to the present, but the stories didn't connect, so it didn't feel very fluid. I don't want to say it took away from what was happening in the author's present, but it wasn't a comfortable transition.

Overall, I thought this was a genuine, heartfelt read with zero crazy Hollywood fluff that you sometimes get from biographies and memoirs, and I appreciate the author sharing the memory of such a raw time in her life.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!!

This book was exactly what I needed right now. Grief is a tough thing

This was a good book! It takes a very serious and very sad topic and makes it kind of interesting and the author adds in some humor and comic relief to make it more talkable. It goes over loss and grief and how to cope with it. I thought it was well written and it kept me entertained.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

THis was such a great read! It has the comic relief, yet the relatable because the concept of the book is something that all children will have to do eventually.