I absolutely loved this book. The raw (and funny) authenticity is palpable. What a gift. I just so happened to be sitting vigil with a friend while her mother was dying at home in the care of hospice, so it was especially poignant for me personally, but I think I would have loved it no matter my circumstances. It is a treatise on how to live, as much as it is a guide to dying. I'm so grateful to the publisher for making this project possible and for allowing me to read/review. I'm sure it will find its way into the hearts of many.

Mr. Boas writes with great emotion and vulnerability in this slim, accessible volume that talks about one of the hardest things we all have to face in life: the ceasing of that life, or rather, death. Approaching this as someone who didn't know much about Mr. Boas, I found the anecdotes fun and enjoyable and they really did paint a picture of what Mr. Boas was like in life. I think this book would be most helpful for those who are grappling with or preparing for the imminent death of a loved one. There is a section where Mr. Boas goes through dos and don'ts, all packed with great insight on how to avoid being self-serving and tactless in the face of someone else's suffering.

Along the same vein, and perhaps better written, I would recommend for those interested the very famous and much celebrated "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi, which Mr. Boas also references here. A few other books that run along the same vein are "Mortality" by Christopher Hitchens and "Gratitude" by the late great Dr. Oliver Sacks.

If it's not already quite obvious, I gravitate towards books like these because of my work with the very ill and dying. I have been the hand that holds them while they die when there are no family members around; I have been the one who calls the spouse in the middle of the night, or catches the daughter as she collapses at the bedside, or breaks the bad news when the family don't make it in time. Because of my experiences, this book didn't really teach me anything new. But that's not the point: this book isn't trying to teach us how to die. Mr. Boas even goes to say that there's no one way or right way to die. Instead, this book is a light-hearted, celebratory reminder of the precious nature of life and what we truly should celebrate about our short, miraculous existence on earth.

Review on Instagram to follow! Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC and give comments.

This collection of previously published work was a surprisingly funny and sweet entry into the growing genres of end-of-life literature and cancer memoirs.