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Summary and Reviews of The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

The Collected Regrets of Clover

A Novel

by Mikki Brammer
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  • First Published:
  • May 9, 2023, 320 pages
  • Paperback:
  • May 2024, 336 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

Mikki Brammer's The Collected Regrets of Clover is a big-hearted and life-affirming debut about a death doula who, in caring for others at the end of their life, has forgotten how to live her own, for readers of The Midnight Library.

What's the point of giving someone a beautiful death if you can't give yourself a beautiful life?

From the day she watched her kindergarten teacher drop dead during a dramatic telling of Peter Rabbit, Clover Brooks has felt a stronger connection with the dying than she has with the living. After the beloved grandfather who raised her dies alone while she is traveling, Clover becomes a death doula in New York City, dedicating her life to ushering people peacefully through their end-of-life process.

Clover spends so much time with the dying that she has no life of her own, until the final wishes of a feisty old woman send Clover on a trip across the country to uncover a forgotten love story––and perhaps, her own happy ending. As she finds herself struggling to navigate the uncharted roads of romance and friendship, Clover is forced to examine what she really wants, and whether she'll have the courage to go after it.

Probing, clever, and hopeful, The Collected Regrets of Clover turns the normally taboo subject of death into a reason to celebrate life.

1

The first time I watched someone die, I was five.

Mr. Hyland, my kindergarten teacher, was a cheerful, tubby man whose shiny scalp and perfectly round face reminded me of the moon. One afternoon, my classmates and I sat cross-legged on the scratchy carpet in front of him, enthralled by his theatrical telling of Peter Rabbit. I remember how his meaty thighs spilled over the edges of the child-sized wooden chair he sat on. His cheeks were rosier than usual, but who could blame him for getting excited over a good Beatrix Potter plot?

As the story reached its climax—when Peter Rabbit lost his jacket fleeing the evil Mr. McGregor—Mr. Hyland stopped, as if pausing for emphasis. We stared up at him, hearts thumping with anticipation. But instead of resuming his narration, he made a sound similar to a hiccup, eyes bulging.

Then, like a felled redwood tree, he toppled to the ground.

We all sat motionless, wide-eyed, unsure if our beloved teacher was just upping the ante on ...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
  1. How does the first chapter set the tone for the rest of the novel? What role do you think Clover's early exposure to death plays in her ability to feel comfortable talking about it?
  2. Clover believes that one of the reasons she has had trouble forging connections with others is because of her job as a death doula. Why do you think it's socially unacceptable to discuss death as an inevitable experience we will all face? How is Western society different from others in this sense?
  3. Does the colloquial discussion of death and people dying in this novel make you uncomfortable? How about when you read the casual descriptions of the various ways people die on page 48? Do you feel (even just a little) more comfortable with death after ...
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Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

The pacing of the novel feels a little off; the road trip, which from the jacket description would appear to be a major element of the plot, isn't so much as floated until well over halfway through. Moreover, the complications it brings about are smoothed over too quickly. Still, it is touching to see Clover's gradual transformation as she agrees to things outside of her comfort zone. She starts off as an Eleanor Oliphant type of character but slowly gets in touch with her emotions as she opens herself to new experiences. Her New York City, as portrayed by Brammer, is a joyous place of dog parks and coffee shops and bookstores, and these small pleasures help counterbalance Clover's regret and sadness...continued

Full Review (876 words)

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(Reviewed by Rebecca Foster).

Media Reviews

Reader's Digest
For all its talk of death, The Collected Regrets of Clover is never dark or grim. This feel-good story is beautiful, heartwarming and ultimately hopeful.

The New York Times Book Review
This weird, lovely and sweetly satisfying novel [is] engaging and accessible...Clover's emergence from a shuttered life is moving enough to elicit tears, and Brammer's take on death and grieving is profound enough to feel genuinely instructional.

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
This is a beautiful tale of a vulnerable, compassionate woman who finds that, in order to care for others, she must also let herself be cared for. Even that cliché feels moving, rather than saccharine, in Brammer's capable hands.

Booklist
While this heartwarming debut novel deals with death, it never becomes maudlin, instead focusing on what makes a life worth living. Readers who appreciate seeing quirky, isolated characters come into their own, such as in Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, will find much to love in this moving novel.

Library Journal
A satisfying experience.

Author Blurb KJ Dell'Antonia, New York Times bestselling author of The Chicken Sisters
I couldn't put this book down. The Collected Regrets of Clover is a tender, charming delight, perfect for anyone who loved The Authenticity Project or Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine.

Author Blurb Ruth Hogan, Sunday Times bestselling author
What a beautiful story! I loved the premise, which was skillfully and sensitively executed. The characters are both memorable and relatable and the subject of death is handled with refreshing honesty and heartbreaking poignancy. This book will be one that I remember for a long time, and it's a story that we can all learn something from.

Reader Reviews

Cloggie Downunder

a moving, thought-provoking and uplifting debut novel
The Collected Regrets Of Clover is the first novel by Australian-born author, Mikki Brammer. As a New York City death doula, thirty-six-year-old Clover Brooks has held a lot of dying hands; she’s listened to a lot of last words and, as a mark of ...   Read More
Elizabeth @Silver's Reviews

Elizabeth @Silver's Reviews - LOVED IT - DON'T MISS IT
A notebook of regrets? Were these regrets a way to live your life so you don't have any? Clover was a death doula who was familiar with seeing people die. Clover would write down the last words or regrets of the person she comforted in ...   Read More

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Beyond the Book



The Death Doula Profession

The protagonist of Mikki Brammer's The Collected Regrets of Clover is a death doula. Just as a doula (or midwife) helps in childbirth, a death doula helps people who are approaching death. The profession has grown remarkably since 2000, when a New York City program co-funded by NYU Medical Center and the Shira Ruskay Center of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services first paired volunteer doulas with patients. In 2003, again in NYC, social worker Henry Fersko-Weiss (author of Caring for the Dying) created the country's first hospice-based end-of-life doula program. In 2015, he co-founded the International End-of-Life Doula Association, which hosts online or in-person training sessions for doulas and hospice workers, as well as ...

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