#19 [2026/CBR18] Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks

I saw Memorial Days (2025) by Geraldine Brooks on a number of year-end lists. I wasn't sure I wanted to read a book about grief, but there was something about the description that made me want to give it a try. This was my first book by Brooks, but I really enjoyed her writing. I thought she was honest, vulnerable, and insightful.

On May 27, 2019, Brook's husband and partner of over thirty years, Tony Horwitz, collapsed and died on a sidewalk in DC, where he was promoting his new book. He was sixty years old and seemingly fit and healthy. Brooks was at their home on Martha's Vineyard when she got a phone call informing her that her husband was dead. The caller hung up and she was left by herself, blindsided, and hundreds of miles away from him. She wanted to fall apart, but instead she held everything inside--forced to deal with the logistics of death first.

Three years later, Brooks is flying to Flinders Island, a beautiful, sparsely populated, and isolated location off the coast of Australia. Brooks is Australian, and thinks if she hadn't met Tony, she may have ended up there instead of living in the United States. Tony was one of those diverging paths in her life that took her in a different direction. In going to Flinders, she is getting a glimpse of something she gave up in order to be with him. And she is finally taking the time to properly grieve her husband.

Brooks jumps back and forth between her time grieving on the island; what exactly happened to her husband back in 2019; and more information about the lives she and her husband created together. I found all parts of this book interesting.

When Brooks describes finding out her husband is dead, having to tell their children the news, and not being able to see his body, I couldn't stop crying. It was very emotional. But she also points out a number of practical things. Tony died at a busy, urban DC hospital, but Brooks found them lacking in empathy and patience. Red tape kept her from seeing his body, and also kept him from donating his organs. Later, Brooks struggled taking over the financial tasks that Tony had taken care of for most of their marriage. She gives practical advice to couples in order to make these logistical things easier when you're already dealing with so much.

While on the island, Brooks thinks back to how she and Tony met, their work throughout the years, as well as their children. She also looks into different forms of formal grieving across cultures--all while using the isolation for her own grieving.

I was surprised by how much this book affected me. Her descriptions felt so real and relatable, and it made me think about my own life and relationships. I listened to this book on Audiobook, but I'm tempted to get a hardcover copy. I also might try some other books by Brooks.