"Look elsewhere for cheeriness; the pleasures offered here are those of intelligence and complexity in the hard times that will come to many of us. " --Sarah Moss, The Guardian "Digs away at our collective fantasy that in dying or caring for the dying we are at our best. In reality, in either role we are often withdrawn, in pain, resentful, bad-tempered: our worst . addictively unsentimental. " -- The Times " Extraordinary, unflinching, wonderful, moving. " --Nina Stibbe, author of Love, Nina " A meticulously clear yet tender self-excavation exploring love and bereavement. " --Rebecca Wragg Sykes, author of Kindred "Sarah Tarlow has harnessed the consoling power of unvarnished truth. Direct, honest and deeply compassionate, this book is a companion for anyone navigating the hardships of loss and uncertainty .

" --Octavia Bright, author of This Ragged Grace " Brave, bold and exquisitely told and with such vibrancy and force . a personal story of love, grief, and pain perfectly framed by the author's deep knowledge of the archaeologies of death and mourning." --Helen Paris, author of Lost Property "A wonderful work of memoir . powerful, fiercely honest, grippingly written and utterly immersive. " --Harry Whitehead, author of The Cannibal Spirit "A tender and big-hearted embrace of a book . A poetic excavation of loss, grief and ritual. " --Graham Caveney, author of The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness "Scrupulously honest . Threaded through with tantalizing glimpses of the world of archaeology , Tarlow's book is a raw, courageous examination of a sad ending to an uneasy relationship.

" -- The Times Literary Supplement "Profound and poignant . beautifully written ." --Melanie Giles, Antiquity "In this vivid and moving memoir, archaeologist Tarlow dissects historical death rituals while navigating her own grief after her husband's death. The result is a refreshingly tough-minded -but still tender -alternative to standard grief memoirs. " -- Publishers Weekly.