The Farewell Chronicles by
Anneli Rufus
pbk out June 05
(Marlowe & Company)
at £8
I wrote a cover endorsement for this book so it goes without saying that I
enjoyed it. Subtitled On How We Really Respond To Death, it examines
every aspect of this last taboo.
Sadly, death is something which Rufus has encountered numerous times
in her own life. Several of her schoolfriends died in tragic accidents and
one of her landlords succumbed to AIDS at the start of the epidemic.
Other friends lost parents at a young age, and Rufus's own father died of a
stroke when she was just thirty years old. This, then, is a very personal
book though it goes beyond individual loss to explore how we as a
society value - and sometimes devalue - human life.
The Farewell Chronicles covers every emotional response from horror to
apathy and illustrates them with thought provoking anecdotes. It's a life
affirming read, for, as Rufus puts it, `every death we encounter is a wake-
up call.'
The Farewell Chronicles by
Anneli Rufus
