Imprint
- W&N
- W&N
Autobiography: religious & spiritual, Christian aspects of sexuality, gender & relations, Gay studies (Gay men), Coping with death & bereavement
The Sunday Times bestselling memoir by the beloved clergyman - a moving and beautifully written account of losing his partner of 12 years and coping with 'the madness of grief' after his death
The No. 2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER from the author of the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling Canon Clement Series
'Immensely moving and disarmingly witty' Nigella Lawson
'Such a moving, tough, funny, raw, honest read' Matt Haig
'Beautifully written, moving and gut-wrenching, but also at times very funny' Ian Rankin
'Captures brilliantly, beautifully, bravely the comedy as well as the tragedy of bereavement' The Times
'Will strike a chord with anyone who has grieved' Independent
When the Reverend Richard Coles' partner died suddenly, shortly before Christmas in 2019, what came next took Richard by surprise. Despite his years of experience assisting his parishioners in examining life's moral questions, Richard now found he needed guidance himself. Much about grief was unexpected: the volume of 'sadmin' that must be undertaken, how much harder it is travelling solo for work, the pain of typing a text message to your partner - then remembering they are gone. This deeply personal account of life after grief will resonate, unforgettably, long after the final page has been turned.
'Astonishingly brave' Dr Rachel Clark
'Brief, wise, frank' Daily Telegraph
'Moving and candid' i Newspaper
'Massively comforting' Dawn French
'Will strike a chord with anyone who has grieved' Independent
'Has an immediacy that is not born of long reflection and it is all the better for it' Financial Times
'An honest book, and a brave one' Oldie
Praise for The Madness of Grief: A Memoir of Love and Loss
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Beautiful, honest and massively comforting
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Immensely moving and disarmingly witty
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Will strike a chord with anyone who has grieved . . . shines with the sort of wry, self-analytical wisdom you might expect from Coles. Full of resonating reflections, ones that urge us all to be kinder, to love more strongly - INDEPENDENT
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Such a moving, tough, funny, raw, honest read. The beautiful articulation of Richard's grief will be a comfort to so many
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Captures brilliantly, beautifully, bravely the comedy as well as the tragedy of bereavement . . . simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking, painful and strangely comforting as it confronts the reality of what happens to us all in the end - THE TIMES
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Beautifully written, moving and gut-wrenching, but also at times very funny, each smile and laugh a candle in the dark
Richard Coles
THE REVEREND RICHARD COLES is a writer, broadcaster and an Anglican priest. He co-presented Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4 for a number of years and appears, from time to time, on QI, Have I Got News For You and Would I Lie To You? He has won Christmas MasterChef, Celebrity Mastermind twice, and captained Leeds to victory in Christmas University Challenge in 2019. A contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, he scored a lamentably low mark for a paso doble.
He writes regularly for the Sunday Times, and is the author of half a dozen books, including a bestselling autobiography, Fathomless Riches, and the bereavement bestseller The Madness of Grief, written after the death of his partner, David Coles. Murder Before Evensong, the first book in the Canon Clement Mystery series, was an instant no.1 Sunday Times bestseller.
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