“Delia has made a living writing an acerbic advice column and a series of wildly successful modern household guides. As the book opens, she is barely 40 but has only a short time to live. The novel charts her preoccupation with two things: how to make provision for her husband and daughters - and how to make her peace with her past.”
I picked up this book over 10 years ago while working at Chapters. It was placed in the bargain section and normally, I’m a book snob and don’t tend to buy from there. The stickers on the books drive me more than a little insane when I try to pull them off. But a book with a name like The Household Guide to Dying is one I simply couldn’t resist. If nothing else, the author and I clearly share the same sense of humor.
I have now read this book twice, and each time I’ve treasured it. It is a quaint book, a bit old fashioned, but I love the dive into Australia that I rarely get the chance to experience. The protagonist, Delia, is a Type-A woman who wants to finish the book she’s working on, leave instructions for her daughters about all the important moments in their lives, and help her husband move on with finding a new wife to continue his life with. Did I mention that book she’s working on is The Household Guide to Dying? A book written about her experience dying of cancer.
The Household Guide to Dying is both not as heavy and emotionally wrought a book as you’d expect, and it is. There are brilliant moments of levity mixed within the exhaustion of a slow, bitter death. I only wish that the fictional Household Guide to Dying was available. But since it doesn’t, this is the next best thing.
I lost a good friend to cancer last summer. Or rather, who died due to incompetent doctors and an unfeeling healthcare system that doesn’t take the pain and suffering of people with chronic illness to heart. I am still struggling with her death, but books like this help. They destigmatize talking about death and dying.
The Household Guide to Dying may not be your most pleasant read of the year, but it might be one of the most important ones.
-L.J.
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