I think it was the sub title of the book or byline of the book “What working with the dead taught me about life” is what really caught my attention and made me want to learn more about the book. I appreciate that the sections on the COVID-19 pandemic did not come until the end of the book; it allowed for readers to truly compare the before and after - and realising just what a loss these people faced by not being able to say goodbye to those they loved.

It is vulnerable and generous, and while anyone who has experienced grief knows nothing can alleviate its sting, it does offer us a valuable comfort: that you are not alone. Joanne Levy is the award-winning author of a number of books for young people, including Double Trouble, Fish Out of Water and The Book of Elsie in the Orca Currents line and the middle-grade novels The Sun Will Come Out, Small Medium At Large and Sorry For Your Loss, which was nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award and won the Canadian Jewish Literature Award. Through it, the book teaches some great lessons about kindness, feeling one's emotions (even when they're unexpected or embarrassing), healing, and getting help (both professional and non-) when needed. However, this book just shows you how every one in that situation reacts their own way and you never know how that is going to be until you are in the situation.Each day provides vastly different dead people with their own vastly different loved ones and their reactions to grief and loss. When a boy her age who's parents have been killed in a car crash comes into the funeral home, she is determined to help. Hopefully they will make your words of sympathy sound more heartfelt and enable you to really be there for them in their time of need. This was a very unusual book for me to pick - it fascinated me to hear about Katie and her job in the mortuary.

Sorry for your Loss’ tells the story of Kate Marshall, who has spent the last year working at a mortuary. This book blew me away in that it explores such deep topics - such as emotional trauma - in such an easy way for children.Following Kate Marshall’s first year in the mortuary at a north of England NHS hospital, with each month exploring the people she meets, in life and death, as well as her own growing awareness of life behind the veil. Kate then shares that there will be items like perhaps a handkerchief that still has the perfume/aftershave of the dead person still on it and she has asked relatives if they would like to take it away with them and they have just waved the offer away saying to just throw it away! For his part, Oren puts up with Evie’s endless chattering with the gratefulness unique to someone who has no desire to fill the silence with their own words. I felt this was a very emotional read but told with such great skill that it truly gave you an insight as to what an important job the mortuary plays in our final journey of life. Sorry for Your Loss -- the tale of Evie, who lives next door to the Jewish funeral home run by her parents -- hits the right balance between funny and touching.