Review by Kaia_paige -- Dying Well by Susan Ducharme Hoben

[Kaia_paige]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Dying Well" by Susan Ducharme Hoben.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Dying Well: Our Journey of Loss and Love, written and narrated by Susan Ducharme Hoben, tells a story about the celebration of life. The novel does not contain advice, there are no huge realizations or epiphanies. Instead, it documents the experience of how to live when someone’s life is coming to an end.

The decision at the beginning of the novel sets the tone of the story, with Bruce choosing quality of life over quantity. What follows is the effect of that decision: facing old tension in relationships, how to introduce death to young children, and how to cope with the knowledge of limited time. The novel gives interesting perspective into grieving while the person is still alive. Because of the setting of terminal illness, there is a type of due date that is given as well as a decline that is seen throughout the novel. There is also this struggle of how to make every lasting moment fulfilling and memorable when there is limited time to do so.

All things considered, I give this novel 4 out of 4 stars. The writing is simple and free of grammatical errors. Even the writing conveys the beauty and emotional experience the novel details. It fits in the perfect lane between complicated and simple, overly detailed and vague, to illustrate a story that rests on the most relatable aspect of human kind. My favorite element of the novel is the theme because even if the story is about death, the theme of the story is the celebration of life. The ending is sad, yet light hearted, a fitting conclusion to a person who lived well and died well, surrounded by family.

There is not a single thing I disliked about this novel. The thing about life and death is that they are relatable to every person. This novel is the same. I would say the demographic would be everyone, but I could not quite distinguish a lower bound to the demographic. I would say that everyone could read it, however, the theme of death might not be suitable to every age.

I would recommend this novel to anyone who wants to read a touching story about a normal person who lived a good life. For a book about death, it takes such a beautiful view of it. Not often do I read stories about people who died peacefully, well loved and without regret. Conclusively, Dying Well is an easy read about a heavy topic, simply and beautifully executed.

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Dying Well
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