Some Bright Nowhere by Ann Packer

For nearly 10 years I have worked at a hospice, where I talk to people about death every day. You might think it is a depressing job, and while it can be sad, it is not depressing. I find it interesting, talking to people and discussing the options for their loved ones' end of life care. So, when I stumbled across this book, "Some Bright Nowhere," it piqued my interest. Ann Packer, best-selling author of "The Dive from Clausen's Pier," has written a book about a woman who sees the end of her life playing out very differently than her husband and children do. In this, Eliot and his wife Claire were facing her death as the treatment for her cancer has ceased to be effective. That is how the book opens: All treatment options are done. They have been married for close to 40 years, and have raised two grown children. Most people in this situation would probably choose to die in their home, surrounded by family, comfortable. But Claire makes an unexpected choice: She wants to die away from her home, away from her family, surrounded by her supportive girlfriends. Claire's decision, instead of being met with respect, is met with sadness and confusion by Eliot. He feels banished and wounded. How this plays out brought up so many issues for me. Can we choose how to die and when? What is socially acceptable, and what is not? Do we have to consider other people's feelings or is death a unique, personal choice for all of us. I suspect most people who read this book are not going to like all of the characters. But I think that is not the point. The point is to look at marriage and death with a set of new eyes, and explore alternatives to traditional end of life options. "Some Bright Nowhere" is Packer's first book in nearly 10 years and I'm very glad to have her back writing complicated stories like this one. To buy this book on Amazon click here.