The Household Guide to Dying

Upon first glance this book, The Household Guide to Dying, might turn people off. I know this because I choose to read it on a flight from Kansas City to Salt Lake City and I got comments about it seeming morbid. I assured these leery folks that it was not at all morbid, but actually quite lovely. You see, this book is about Delia. She's super organized and has written several "Household Guides" to this, that and the other. So when she finds herself dying from cancer she decides to document the experience in her final installment in the "Household" series.

The reader follows Delia as she makes preparations for her family so they are cared for and feel her presence after her passing. She ties up loose ends from a time in her life that seems like a lifetime ago. This is not a book that starts and ends on a time line. Each chapter follows a different thread of the book and you return to that thread a few chapters later. Learning from one thread you understand the other threads better.

As a constant list maker myself I could fully relate to the character's desire for organization and control, even in the final details of her life.

The author, Debra Adelaide, has authored two other novels, The Hotel Albatross and Serpent Dust as well as being an editor for several other publications. She is also a mother of three and resides in Australia.

Thank you MotherTalk for the opportunity to enjoy this novel.