I’m a 35 year old female who has always focused on staying active and fit and hoped that would help negate many of the negative impacts of aging, but I know some, and perhaps most of it, is unavoidable. I work in the cancer field and see it take even young and healthy people. I also just lost my grandmother suddenly a few days ago even though she was relatively healthy and didn’t partake in most of the substances known to hasten disease. Fiction is my preference, but I’ll entertain any genre if it might help improve perspective on the physical and mental declines associated with aging and the unstoppable careening toward death. No christian god themes please, though I don’t mind generally spiritual influences. Thanks in advance.
by sbryant1230
8 Comments
[Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/139400713) is a very good coming-of-age (college age) story in which the MC faces themes of martyrdom, suicide, and death. It’s actually not as macabre as it sounds.
Also, [The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62952130-the-vaster-wilds?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ubzxUIl23h&rank=1), although if I say why I would spoil it.
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Such an amazing book and so many great insights.
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro – it’s a quiet novel but has themes of coming to terms with your life and how it’s been lived.
The Olive series by Elizabeth Strout.
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
How We Die is a nonfiction National Boom Award winner that will help demystify death and give you a new perspective.
Tuesdays With Morrie
{{Staring at the Sun by Irvin D. Yalom}}
It’s a nonfiction written by a practicing psychotherapist. He shows, through the cases of his past clients, how a fear of death can be present in life and influence seemingly unrelated areas, alongside with possibilities of resolution. He also mentions fiction books and movies thorough the book that relate to this topic, so you can also be on the lookout for those. I found it an illuminating read.
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. I am also 35, and this was a really nice read. I listened to the audiobook version and liked it a lot. Probably not quite what you’re looking for, but certainly a segue into a deeper conversation.
I also have “Die Wise” on my to be read list.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman–it’s a rumination on death and grief that I found really beautiful.