Review by artemis_xenick12 -- Dying Well

[artemis_xenick12]

[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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One of the first things that author Susan Ducharme Hoben mentions in the introduction of her book, Dying Well: Our Journey of Love and Loss, is that she does not consider herself a writer, yet from even the mere pages of the introduction, it is clear that this statement is not true. Hoben spins a heartfelt tale of her husband’s battle with cancer, detailing their family’s journey through the stages of losing someone you love. Filled with love-soaked memories and a gentle conversational prose, this book displays the beautiful relationship between Susan, Bruce, and their family, and how they treasured Bruce’s last days together, bound not by hospitals and medical procedures but by the unconditional love that had tethered them for so many years before.
I found this book to be an inspiring story of love and overcoming life’s greatest challenge: accepting one’s own mortality. Hoben’s narrative writing compelled me to immediately feel invested in her and Bruce’s story, and the whole book was written in a very personal way that evoked many emotions as the story progressed. There was tender detail and a gentle honesty that carried throughout the book, emphasizing each stage of preparing to lose someone you love. Furthermore, it was inspiring to read a story of a cancer patient whose life was not just about cancer; Bruce took trips, hosted parties, and spent quality time with family right up until the end, and this book is a beautiful tribute to his strength and the peace that was achieved at the end of his life.
I am going to rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. This book was extremely well-written, with a sense of warmth that makes the reader feel they are sitting right next to Hoben and hearing the story of her husband. There were very few grammatical errors, and the overall experience of reading this book was inspiring.
This book was most likely professionally edited because I only noticed a few small grammatical errors, but these did not take away from the overall quality of the book. As for profanity, there was only one instance, so it was not prevalent at all.
I would recommend this book to anyone; all people could benefit from hearing a story of how impending mortality doesn’t mean giving up on your sense of self, family, or anything that you love. This was a heartfelt and endearing story that anyone would feel the emotion and depth of.

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Dying Well
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