Thursday 13 February 2014

Giveaway ~ The Dead Wife's Handbook by Hannah Beckerman

*~Giveaway~*


To celebrate the publication of  The Dead Wife's Handbook by  Hannah Beckerman
on the 
13th February 2014



18623494
Penguin Books UK
13 February 2014 




From the beginning of the book we know that the narrator, Rachel has recently died and is inhabiting a form of private purgatory where she can view her loved ones as if from afar but who is unable to make any sort of physical contact with them. Through Rachel’s unique form of analysis we meet with her grieving husband, Max and their bewildered seven year old daughter Ellie, both of whom are still struggling to deal with the aftermath of Rachel’s unexpected death.

What then follows is the story of how the grieving process evolves and even though well meaning friends feel that Max should be able to move on, somehow ‘moving on’ isn’t as important as remembering what has been lost in the first place. Despite the premise of the book being controlled by the feelings evoked around death and dying, it isn't always a sad story, there are moments when the book is quite uplifting.

Ultimately, however, this is a story about what happens to those who are left behind following the death of a loved one, and is testament to how everyone experiences grief and loss in quite different ways. There are subtle chapter references to the five stages of grief first recounted by the eminent American physician, Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, whose book ‘On death and Dying’ is still the definitive work on the grieving process.

The author has captured the emotional aspect of grief very well and with a subtle hand has explored the vagaries of loss in an appealing and eloquent way. The book is very readable and gets the message across without ever resorting to over sentimentality. It is a commendable debut novel, and I look forward with interest to more books from this talented author.


My thanks to Katie Sheldrake at Penguin Books UK

***
I have one paperback copy to giveaway to one lucky UK winner 

*~ Good Luck~*

14 comments:

  1. Hello, I'm Kat2011 from risi, I'd love to win this book as it sounds fantastic, Thank you for a great giveaway

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    1. Hi Kat ~ thanks for visiting , good luck in the giveaway :)

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  2. Sounds quite an interesting read thanks for offering a copy as a giveaway.

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  3. I would be interested to read how the author deals with this sensitive subject and the development of the story throughout the book. thanks for the giveaway,

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    1. Hi Wendy ~ thanks for entering the giveaway - good luck.

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  4. Frangipani, entering, thank you! x

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  5. Hi im Theresa Baker and would love to read this book. Thank you for the giveaway

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    1. Hi Theresa - welcome to jaffareadstoo ~ good luck in the giveaway :)

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  6. I'm Natalie and I'm a bookworm! Hi :)

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    1. Hi Natalie - all bookworms are welcome at jaffareadstoo

      Good Luck :)

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  7. I'm Kathy (bookbinder) on Readitswapit and Bookmooch. I have more books than my years will allow me to read but I can't stop collecting more!! This is a lovely page. Congratulations!

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    1. Hi Kathy - welcome to jaffareadstoo, thanks for visiting. Good luck in the giveaway :)

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