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Death of an Ordinary Man

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Death of an Ordinary Man

By: Sarah Perry
Narrated by: Lydia Leonard
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Death of an Ordinary Man is an unforgettable account of this universal aspect of life. It is not a book about grief: it is a book about dying, and it is a book about family, and care and love.

Sarah Perry's father-in-law David died in the autumn of 2022, only nine days after a cancer diagnosis. Until then he'd been a healthy and happy man: he loved stamp collecting, fish and chips, comic novels, his local church, and the Antiques Roadshow. He was in some ways a very ordinary man, but as he began to die, it became clear how extraordinary he was.

Sarah and her husband Robert nursed David themselves at home, eventually with the help of carers and visiting nurses. They bathed and cleaned and dressed him, comforted him in pain, sat with him through waking and sleeping, talked to him, sang to him, prayed with him. Day by day and hour by hour, they witnessed what happens to the body and spirit as death approaches and finally arrives.

'Please read this book. It may very well change how you live' Rachel Clarke

'I was spellbound' Kathryn Mannix

'By the end I was left shaken, deeply moved' Christos Tsiolkas

'This book will be a lifeline for so many people' Seán Hewitt

'To read this book is a privilege, a gift on the craft of dying' Amy Key

© Sarah Perry 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

 Art & Literature Authors Death & Dying Grief & Loss Medical Personal Development Professionals & Academics Relationships Sociology Marriage

Critic Reviews

I have not been moved like this by a book in a very long time. Death of an Ordinary Man is a masterful piece of writing. It gives dignity and weight to something as ordinary, as extraordinary, as death. By redeeming a common experience in all its intimacy, panic, disorientation and unexpected light, this book will be a lifeline for so many people. Those of us who have witnessed the death of a loved one will thank Sarah Perry for witnessing us in return. (Seán Hewitt)
Sarah Perry’s Death of an Ordinary Man is an act of devotion, not only to her father-in-law but to the art of memoir. What makes this book incredibly special is its intimate attentiveness to dying – how it transforms the subject and their witnesses – in Perry’s intelligent, precise and radiant prose. To read this book is a privilege, a gift on the craft of dying. I know I’ll reach for it when I need both courage and consolation (Amy Key)
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