Description

As featured on BBC Radio 4

‘Funny and touching’ Sunday Times

‘Extraordinary’ Observer

‘Full of both wisdom and humour’ Julia Samuel

‘Funny, moving, brave’ Jeremy Bowen

‘I had the privilege to conduct Simon’s last broadcast interview – knowing his wise words on the page could live on afterwards’ Emma Barnett

*****READER REVIEWS

‘Simon’s cheerful voice comes through every page’

‘An absolute gift of a book … This book has the potential to change your life’

‘Stunning’

It isn’t quite ‘Don’t buy any green bananas’. But it’s close to ‘Don’t start any long books’.

In his mid-40s, Simon Boas was diagnosed with incurable cancer – it had been caught too late, and spread around his body. But he was determined to die as he had learned to live – optimistically, thinking the best of people, and prioritising what really matters in life.

In A Beginner’s Guide to Dying Simon considers and collates the things that have given him such a great sense of peace and contentment, and why dying at 46 really isn’t so bad. And for that reason it’s also only partly about ‘dying’. It is mostly a hymn to the joy and preciousness of life, and why giving death a place can help all of us make even more of it.

Publisher Review

'Has anyone ever written a more inspirational paean to the joy of life?' - Daily Mail 'Boas's cheerful stoicism seems to have touched the nation' - Daily Telegraph 'A funny, touching meditation on death - Rosamund Urwin, The Times 'As Simon Boas treads the pathway we shall all tread he is funny, compassionate and wise. A book not to be missed' - Sir Terry Waite 'Simon Boas' outlook on life is an inspiration to us all, and his wonderful book is full of both wisdom and humour' - Julia Samuel, author of Grief Works 'I had the privilege to conduct Simon's last broadcast interview - knowing his wise words on the page could live on afterwards. How lucky we all are to have someone as generous as him to share such important perspectives on life while dying' - Emma Barnett 'I hope this tiny treasure chest of a book will be read, shared, gifted, laughed with, cried over, thought about and reflected on far and wide' - Kathryn Mannix, author of With the End in Mind 'Funny, moving, brave, sensible - and without self pity. Simon's book celebrates human resilience and reminds us all to enjoy life while we have it' - Jeremy Bowen