Pub date: 5/9/23
Genre: contemporary fiction
Quick summary: After witnessing death at a young age, Clover becomes a death doula. But in doing so, she neglects her own life - until a client asks her to find a lost love - and maybe she'll get her own love story.

I put off reading this book because I worried it would be too heavy. But after seeing positive reviews on bookstagram, I went ahead and took a chance on it. I found it easy to relate to Clover, as I've also found myself with a bit of a "martyr complex" at times. I enjoyed how she captured regrets, advice, and confessions from her clients - and she slowly began to realize how important it was to live life to the fullest. I really enjoyed her journey to find a client's lost love, and lessons she learned along the way, and I think other readers looking for an emotional story will too!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I met a death doula at an art exhibition. She is also an artist. She makes amazing floral sculptures in place of gravestones, creating colorful, living, cultural memorials. I find what she does amazing. And then, by coincidence, I read this book. I had forgotten exactly what the book was about since it was awhile between getting approved for it and actually reading it, so the connection made the book that much more interesting.

Clover is a wonderful human. I don't know if I could do her job. I'm not sure if she was so good at her job because of how she was raised, but people who do this work are very special. I wish I had known such a person when both my parents were ill and then died, or even had been able to attend a death cafe to help my parents passing easier for themselves and for my benefit.

I thought the book was interesting, it was executed very well. I really loved the writing style of the author. If I didn't know she was Australian, I'd have sworn she was Southern. She has that way of telling a story. It was as if Clover was sitting next to me on the porch, with a glass of sweet tea, telling me the whole story personally.

I can't wait to read more by this author!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions are mine and freely expressed.

I requested this book because I was interested in the concept of a death doula, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that this book is really more about Clover’s growth as a person than her career. There are definitely interesting moments of her work as a death doula, but more of the tender moments are in her interactions with Leo, Sylvie, and others. This is perfect for fans of Maame, Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? and other stories of self-evolution and growth.

Death is always interesting, this book not so much. It pulled me in by making clover a death doula since she’s been surrounded by it since she was five. I was hoping for more romance and less women’s fiction. The romance seemed like a very small offshoot to the story. Clover sets out to live her life after a client persuades her too but the time jumps make it difficult to follow and sometimes I was confused because they seemed like a different character altogether.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this Advanced Copy of The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer. This is a great book to get you in your feels as well as a great book discussion pick.

The Collected Regrets of Clover, what an intriguing title for a unique and very enjoyable novel. The main character, Clover, is a death doula, who helps people in their final days before death. She herself lost both parents to an accident and was basically raised by her grandfather. Clover isolates herself against hurt and pain by having few, if any, friends besides an older gentleman named Leo. As the story progresses Clover comes to realize that she needs to start living her life without regret. But can Clover really change her ways? Can she live with reckless abandon as she continues to assist and guide people through the process of death? This novel is filled with beautiful imagery and the author is able to allow the reader to come to terms with the finite nature of all humans. The plot is unique and well written. It is a five star review from me!! Thank you to Mikki Brammer, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this novel . It was a true pleasure!

This one was not for me. While I enjoyed some of her observations/lessons about life, death and dying, I did not like this character at all. And also did not like many of her actions — lying, sharing confidences and spying on neighbors. the writing also felt quite basic and dry. But the book has received many positive reviews so you be the judge. But this was one that I should have DNFed. Loved the premise but not the execution.

Even though I read the synopsis of this novel, I quickly found the subject matter a bit heavy for me to get into. Although very well written, I found it hard to get through this book,
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this novel.

I loved this book! Mikki Grammar has woven a beautiful story about Clover and her experiences with life and death, love and loss, and courage. As a retired Medical Social Worker and Pastor, I found Clover's career very relatable and relevant. Her struggles within her personal life were endearing and I was rooting for her throughout the book. I stayed up too late to finish reading it and this book will stay with me for a while! Thanks #NetGalley #StMartinsPress

This, my friends, is a book about death. 💀
Sort of. 😂🫠

Clover, our main character, is a death doula, who helps people through the end of life process so they can pass away peacefully without regrets. After her grandfather who raised her passes away while she’s not there, she’s convinced he died lonely and with no one at his side, and becomes dedicated to her job, doesn’t make friends, and avoids any and all relationships. She has no life because she’s focused on everyone else’s death.

I thought the concept of this novel was interesting, but it stayed sort of surface level in that Clover really was only with people on their old age, who were in a position to start to prepare for death due to age or illness, but they were all older and had lived full lives. The novel could have gone darker, but since it was mostly focused on Clover finding herself while trying to help others, her job just sort of set up the story and at times helped moved along the plot as needed.

While there are some conflicts that come up, everything stays pretty light, there is some talk of grief, but even that is mostly just encouraging words and phrases you’d find in a book on grieving Also, there was a line that said “But the secret to a beautiful death is to live a beautiful life.” I get the sentiment there, but what if you live this beautiful life and then get like, eaten by a polar bear? That’s tragic.

Anyway, I’m in a weird place right now and maybe should have read this book at a different time 😂. The ending was uplifting, Clover gets a happy ending, hugs all around.

This would make a great summer book club book, I think. It’s an easy read and would be a fun chat.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

"What’s the point of giving someone a beautiful death if you can’t give yourself a beautiful life?"

Clover has experienced a lot of loss in her life from a young age and it really shaped her and her interests. She became an orphan at the age of 6 and went to go live with her grandfather in NYC. She grew to be very interested in death and even studied it and wrote her thesis on it. She travelled the world learning about how different cultures see and deal with death. During her travels her grandfather sadly passes and she feels immense guilt not being there and it sparks her into becoming a death doula. She helps usher people peacefully and into death and navigate any unfinished business. But although she helps people deal with their lives she realizes she may not have been living her life they way she should and works to live a life without regrets,

THIS STORY WAS SO BEAUTIFUL. I enjoyed this one so much I cannot express how meaningful the message of this story. Everyone has some fear or anxiety about death, or has dealt with loss and grief and this handled the subject matter so nicely. Clover was so relatable, and really imparted so much wisdom. I learned so much about a career path I had no idea existed and it was so well written. I truly have nothing bad to say.

I absolutely adored this book! It was unique, meaningful and full of hope. Clover is a Death Doula, so obviously this book deals with lots of grief and loss. However, this book is so beautiful and we learn a great lesson from all of the different people she encounters in her job. I thought the story was so interesting, and I could not stop reading it. I loved all of Clover's little quirks, and I was happy that she finally took some chances for herself. This book is full of life lessons, hard circumstances, grief, love, hope and lots of quirky lovable characters.

What I loved:
✨Introspective journey: Clover records advice, regrets, and confessions from her clients, causing her ponders how she’s lived her life.
✨Big Feelings: I was prepared to feel sad because this is a book about death. And I’ll be honest, I bawled ugly tears during specific points in the book. But I experienced joy, hope, laughter, appreciation, and contentment. Every relationship in this book I adored, and each one contributed to the vast array of emotions. Terrific writing Mikki Brammer!
✨Narration: Jennifer Pickens offers gentleness and quietness to Clover that feels perfect. I binged this audiobook over 2 days because her narration was that good!

I adore the message of living life to the fullest. I think this quote is so beautiful “We never know how long a life will last until we live it.” Reminding us that we never know how much time we have. So, you can let life move without experiencing it, or you can live each day as best you can, regardless of the time you have. I’ll leave you with one more quote, “The secret to a beautiful death is living a beautiful life.”

I highly recommend this debut novel - it’s thought-provoking, heartfelt, tender, and a little quirky. If you listen to the audiobook, don’t skip the author/narrator conversation!

Thanks to @thats.one.for.the.books for the buddy read! Both of us agree that this book surprised us in many ways, and we could never outline all its beauty unless we were writing a thesis.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Unfortunately, I could not get into this. The summary sounded really unique but I found myself losing interest with the slow pacing at the beginning. It is written really well and I think it's just a matter of taste. I encourage others to pick this up!

4.75⭐ on 🎧

By far one of the most unique and thought provoking books I've read this year. The titular character Clover is a death doula and I loved how Mikki explored both the profession and death itself. I think this has fundamentally changed some of my perception on death and made me smarter while also letting me root for a fictional character to find happiness.

I loved how Mikki created complex characters and subtly shared their flaws (here's looking at all those red flags, Sebastian) in a way that created a beautiful arc of growth for Clover. I will say there were moments where Clover's actions felt immature for a thirty-six-year-old woman but otherwise this book was a riveting listen/read.

I will be thinking about this book and Clover for a long time. A must read if you fear death and want to get more comfortable with your own mortality.

Also the audiobook includes an extra author/narrator interview!

What an absolutely beautiful book. I loved Clover and how her character develops throughout. She is beautifully courageous and I love that she starts to take cautious risks. I need to learn a thing or two from her. This is a heavy and powerful read that is truly inspiring. I was quickly drawn in until the very end. I didn't get bored or disconnected at any point which is so unlike me. I would recommend this book over and over again!

"Turns out, in the opinion of most medical experts, your grieving process shouldn't last longer than six months. And if you aren't over it by then, there's something clinically wrong with you. What the hell?

“It felt callous to be expected to resume life as normal six months after losing someone whose existence had been so indelibly intertwined with yours. ... That was one of the reasons I became a death doula - my grief felt more at home in the company of others who were grieving, whether it was loved ones or the dying person themselves grieving a life they knew they could have lived better."

- Mikki Brammer, The Collected Regrets of Clover

The Collected Regrets of Clover will be one of my top books in 2023. I loved this quiet story about a 30-something woman who's experienced a great deal of loss in her life and feels called to help others go through it. As a death doula, she's often the only person with someone in their last moments, and she respectfully records their final regrets and/or last words (hence the title). Clover's isolated life gradually enlarges as she allows more people into it, and her story is ultimately hopeful. I really appreciated the cast of secondary characters and the lessons they help Clover learn.

A book about death won't appeal to all readers, but grief is my unofficial reading theme of 2023 since my father died in January. I'm finding it very powerful to explore this significant event that happens to everyone but most are reluctant to discuss.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for access to a review copy of this emotional novel that is very worthy of its lovely cover.

First of all-- I love the cover. I'm a person who does judge a book by it's cover and it's why I was originally interested in this book. I've already purchased a copy for my library and recommended it to my readers. I found the main character as a death doula to be unique in literature. It sounds like it would be depressing but in fact it gave her a zest for life and I liked how she helped other people appreciate their lives. It was a sweet love story too!

Such s great book! If i had read this a year ago before losing my grandfather i wouldn’t have appreciated a story about grief as well as I do now. Grief has no timeline and everyone handles death differently. I loved Clover and her hesitancy to really live. Im Timid and don’t take risks often but maybe i should start taking cautious risks too!

Buckle up for a very moving, heartfelt journey in this debut novel by Mikki Brammer!

Clover is a death doula, offering her support and companionship to people as they die. When Clover was five years old, she witnessed her kindergarten teacher die. Then the grandfather who raised her in New York City passed away, and Clover ultimately decided to become a death doula. Clover meets an old woman who sends her on a mission across the country that forces Clover to examine her own life and happiness.

This book drew me in quickly and didn’t let go. I adore Clover and her unique outlook on life and death. It depicts many beautiful descriptions of her work as a death doula. The story also featured a cast of colorful characters who felt like dear friends by the end.

You may be worried that this story is depressing and sad, but rest assured that you don’t want to miss it. While there were a few moments that drew some tears, the rest of the story wasn’t at all hard to read. This book evoked some poignant memories for me around losses and regrets in my own life. This is a story that makes you question if you are really living your life to its fullest. I have a feeling it’s going to remain in my thoughts for quite a while! This is one of the best books I’ve read this year, for sure!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this book!