Grief is universal but the at the same time, isolating. Clare Mackintosh’s first non-fiction work is the book she was looking for when she lost her five-week-old soon
It offers a compassionate guide through the darkness for anyone navigating a loss, especially parents. The book cover is an ode to a woman who offered support to the author in the early stages of her grief and symbolises the flowers Mackintosh plants in remembrance of the child she lost.
She challenges the notion that grief follows predictable stages
Drawing on her personal experiences, Mackintosh writes with a raw authenticity that resonates deeply with those who are walking a similar path. She challenges the notion that grief follows predictable stages that are easily labelled and traversed, instead presenting it as a unique journey filled with ever-changing emotions—sometimes overwhelming, other times fleetingly subtle.
Formatted in 18 chapters to reflect each year the author has lived without her son, it is an anthology of assurances that reads as part-memoir, part self-help. Not every passage will be relatable to every reader at a given point in time but its promise – that it won’t always hurt like this – is healing and hopeful.