You wouldn’t think a story about a death doula would be so uplifting and inspiring but this book was. I completely fell in love with Clover, Claudia and Leo and the lessons they taught me and this is one of those stories that will stay with me long after finishing it.

It was very moving without being schmaltzy and also light-hearted and humorous enough to balance the regrets and loss. It’s not at all maudlin, just a very sweet and meaningful story and I loved it. Highly recommend.

Clover is a death doula who sits with those who are alone in the world and ushers them out of this life. As her own personal tribute, she writes down their final words, dividing them into Regrets, Confessions and Advice. She also tries to follow their advice and, in Clover, Mikki Brammer has created a wonderful, nuanced character who is at odds with the world. I find the idea of a death doula fascinating and I think the more that fiction - and all of us - can talk about death in a natural and honest way, the better.
Because Clover has spent a large portion of her life dwelling in the past and thinking about death, she deserves to step out of her habits and live a richer life. No spoilers, but there's a strong Romance sub-plot that comes through and steers the book towards a sunny conclusion.

Endearingly evocative. In her work as a death doula, Clocer is confident, kind and thoughtful. In her own life she is lovely,grieving and riddled with self doubt. Without friends and family of her own her existence is one of routine and solitude. Change is necessary , firstly when a new neighbour moves in upstairs and the when she is strong armed into meeting her new client Claudia a fiesty nonagenarian whose past is aching for revisiting. A must read.

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer is a delightful, uplifting read that I really enjoyed and made me reflect on what it means to live a full and beautiful life.

Clover Brooks is a death doula – she has sat with strangers in their final days and moments on earth to provide comfort and companionship. She finds the people she helps usually talk about 3 things when they know their time is up; Confessions, Regrets and Advice. Clover holds onto these by keeping notebooks full of the things she is told but she isn’t putting them into practice in her own life. She has shut herself off from the world after the death of her beloved Grandfather and her world has become very small in the midst of her grief. But then she is contacted about a new client, Claudia, who changes everything and makes Clover reassess her life and what she wants from it.

So this subject matter could of made for a very depressing book but it is handled with such grace and tenderness that it actually left me with a feeling of wonder and love. I adored the line “The secret to a beautiful death is living a beautiful life.”.

I also loved the character of Claudia – such a woman ahead of her time but ultimately, did what she thought she needed to do given the time in history. The story actually gave me a bit of a Sliding Doors vibe as in what would your life be if something didn’t happen the way it did and I loved it!

Highly recommend picking this one up as I feel there is something relatable in it for everyone and might just inspire the courage you need to live your life on your terms!

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this. Clover is a likeable main character and you really feel for her throughout. I'd not heard of a death doula before, but a quick Google confirms it is a real profession. It's an original career path for a fictional character and therefore the story was original too. Overall a very enjoyable read.

This book deserves to be a bestseller! I haven’t enjoyed a book this much in a long time. Not a sad book about regrets, but insight into living life well.
From a young age, Clover wasn’t a typical kid. Losing her parents at six, she is raised by her scholarly grandfather with outings to the bark park to observe dog behavior, and afternoons at the bookstore. She never learned how to play and interact with other kids, and by age 37, she still feels uncomfortable in society.
As a death doula, Clover sits with the dying helping to make the journey easier. Most people when dying reflect on life with regrets, confessions, or advice. Clover has 3 separate journals which she carefully transcribes the final words into the appropriate journal. Clover is still grieving her grandfather’s death after many years, and although her life is surrounded by people expressing regret for not living life more fully, she is unable to take their advice. Avoiding personal encounters, she escapes into 90’s romcoms over and over. Fortunately for Clover, Slyvie, a vivacious new neighbor, cracks through Clover’s walls of self protection and insecurity. For the first time in her life, Clover has a friend. It’s a real treat experiencing Clover’s emergence, and I think everyone can pick up some insight. As one very special dying man said to Clover as he lay dying, “The secret to a beautiful death is living a beautiful life.”
Many thanks to netgalley and Viking for this advance copy, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend.

Clover is a Death Doula - she helps people face up to their impending death and is there for them when they die. Why? Her parents died when she was six and she lived with her elderly academic grandfather in a New York apartment. Now alone as her grandfather has died, Clover has to face up to her regrets and take a leap of faith into a world of emotion.
Clover is a fan of RomComs and this book reads like one of them! There are several unanswered questions ( how does she pay her bills? How much does a Death Doula earn? …) but the book is ultimately uplifting and life-affirming with all of the loose ends tied up in a nice big bow at the end.

Although the primary theme is death and grief this is actually very heartwarming and uplifting. With a socially awkward main character in Clover who works as a death doula and has been present at almost 100 deaths having witnessed her first death at just five years old when her teacher died and then shortly after her own life was impacted by the death of her parents leaving her grandfather to care for her. There’s some lovely characters in here including the memorable eponymous Clover and the storyline is very thoughtful and gentle. It’s very good about getting you thinking about death and how it can be dealt with positively and is very well considered.

This is easily one of the best books I've read in 2022! I will definitely be purchasing a copy when it is released for publication in 2023.

Clover has experienced a lot of death in her almost four decades of life. She lost her parents as a young child, held the hand of her teacher whilst he passed and unexpectedly lost the beloved grandfather who raised her. Now, as a death doula, she is nearing 100 moments in which she has witnessed the reality of death first hand.

When Clover takes on a new client in Claudia, a wealthy woman from the Upper West side who lives with significant regret, she is forced to evaluate her own life and wonder; has she been truly living? Or simply existing...

It is hard for me to quantify what I'm feeling after finishing this emotional story. Yes, it deals with the topic of death head on but it is not morbid or macabre. Instead, we are privvy to Clover's long standing grief and the protective mechanisms she has erected to keep herself safe. In the same way, the honesty we see from Claudia in her last week's alive and in the exerpts of experiences from Clover's past clients, feel like we are truly witnessing the most intimate moments of one's life and death.

I feel that this story provided a significant back story, which was definitely needed, but which didn't feel heavy or hard to process.
The ending especially was quite poignant and I felt that all of the varying storylines tied together really well.

I loved this book and believe that the Author and publishing team have done a brilliant job.
I'll be recommending this on!