Memorial Days cover art

Memorial Days

 Preview
Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Memorial Days

By: Geraldine Brooks
Narrated by: Geraldine Brooks
Try Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $16.99

Buy Now for $16.99

About this listen

 SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2026 INDIE BOOK AWARD FOR NON-FICTION

A heartrending and beautiful memoir of sudden loss and a journey toward peace, from the bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Horse

Many cultural and religious traditions expect those who are grieving to step away from the world. In contemporary life, we are more often met with red tape and to-do lists. This is exactly what happened to Geraldine Brooks when her partner of more than three decades, Tony Horwitz - just sixty years old and, to her knowledge, vigorous and healthy - collapsed and died on a Washington, DC street.

After spending their early years together in conflict zones as foreign correspondents, and living in Sydney, Geraldine and Tony settled down to raise two boys on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. The life they built was one of meaningful work, good humour, and tenderness, as they spent their days writing and their evenings cooking family dinners or watching the sun set with friends. But all of this came to an abrupt end when, on the US Memorial Day public holiday of 2019, Geraldine received the phone call we all dread. The demands were immediate and many. Without space to grieve, t he sudden loss became a yawning gulf.

Three years later, she booked a flight to remote Flinders Island off the coast of Tasmania with the intention of finally giving herself the time to mourn. In a shack on the island's pristine, rugged coast she often went days without seeing another person. There, she pondered the various ways in which cultures grieve, and what rituals of her own might help to rebuild a life around the void of Tony's death.

A spare and profoundly moving memoir that joins the classics of the genre, Memorial Days is a portrait of a larger-than-life man and a timeless love between souls that exquisitely captures the joy, agony and mystery of life. Art & Literature Authors Best of 2025 Grief & Loss Jewish Heritage Journalists, Editors & Publishers Personal Development Relationships Women's Voices Heartfelt Massachusetts
All stars
Most relevant
very personal. not very uplifting. autobiography. but well written and easy to listen too. nicely presented

not outstanding

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
a story of a time we all dread but so many of us will go though it. we can't expect to enjoy but we have to endure. Thank you Geraldine to sharing your story so lovingly.

so heart-warming.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The author, Geraldine Brooks, tenderly recounts the sudden death of her husband, Anthony Horowitz, and her struggle to mourn his loss and honour his life.
A memorable book- every chapter is a gift.

An exceptional memoir of love and loss

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The tenderness, honesty and courage in giving voice to grief. And the light and humanity that shines through the story, even in sorrow.

Thank you Geraldine. What a wonderful rare gift this book is.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved the beautiful descriptions of Flinders Island. The sense of having time out to grieve…

A beautiful Memoir

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.