👥 Suitable for anyone who’s: - lost someone close - feeling lonely / questioning the meaning of life - into life-and-death conversations - enjoys heartwarming and satisfying stories 🔖 Premise The story follows Clover, a mid-30s death doula who grew up lonely after losing her parents and later her grandfather. Her world is mostly her grandfather’s old friend and the dying people she accompanies, until a death-gathering unexpectedly changes her life. 👍🏻 Liked ✨ Emotional Relatability & Comfort - Being fascinated by life/death topics while others find it weird. - That strange feeling of learning new things about loved one only after they’re gone. - How memories from childhood blur—half real, half imagined—from staring at the same old photo for years. - Shutting yourself off to avoid rejection. - Collecting wisdom but struggling to actually apply it: “Is anybody good at doing that though? Most of us don’t ever learn our real lessons in life until it’s too late right? I guess the important things is that you’re trying your best.” - The guilt of letting your loved one die alone: “Even though he died alone, he didn’t die lonely.” ✨ Themes 1. Death & Dying - People’s behaviour near the end: fear, bitterness, neediness, the messy reality of dying. - How to show up for them: don’t look away; presence heals more than words; love gets through even if they’re unconscious. 2. Grief - How it lingers forever; how society pressures you to “move on” - The scars from not getting to say goodbye 3. Regrets - Not expressing love out of shame / took it for granted / never learnt how - Hadn’t taken more risks - Existing out of habit - Reason for such regrets: People only think about death when it’s too late. 4. Living Fully - “While I thought that I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die.” — Leonardo da Vinci - Ideal relationship: To be able to open up yourself and to be truly seen by someone else. 5. Death Avoidance - How society avoids talking about death. - How people rather play podcasts as background noise than to be alone with their own thoughts 6. Parent Relationships
- “It’s so easy to see your parental figure through that lens alone, to think that their existence has always revolved around yours. But before they were parents, they were simply human beings trying to navigate life as best they could, dealing with their own disappointments, chasing after their own dreams. And yet, we often expect them to be infallible.” ✨ Sprinkles of Wisdom - Start new chapters in life with new scents. This way you will be able to look back relive your best memories from that time whenever you smelt it. - Live you life with infinite curiosity and a keen sense of observation - People love talking about themselves - Choose friendships wisely - Put yourself first - “It’s easy to glamorize the path you didn’t take.” - “Habits are hard to change.” ✨ Other things I liked - Details come back in meaningful ways - Witty, wise, lovable characters - Slight mention of open relationships and friends-with-benefits - Fun seeing the “other side” of the deceased through Clover’s discoveries ✏️ Quotes Grief - “The truth is, grief never really goes away. Someone told me once that it’s like a bag that you always carry — it starts out as a large suitcase, and as the years go by, it might reduce to the size of a purse, but you carry it forever. I know it probably sounds cliche, but it helped me realize that I didn’t need to ever get over it completely.” - “Grief was like dust. When you’re in the thick of a dust storm, you’re completely disoriented by the onslaught, struggling to see or breathe. But as the force recedes, and you slowly find your bearings and see a path forward, the dust begins to settle into the crevices. And it will never disappear completely — as the years pass, you’ll find it in unexpected places at unexpected moments. Grief is just love looking for a place to settle.” Taking Risks - “Don’t let the best part of life pass you by because you’re too scared of the unknown. Be cautiously reckless.” - “But the secret to a beautiful death is to live a beautiful life. Putting your heart out there. Letting it get broken. Taking chances. Making mistakes. Promise me kid, that you’ll let yourself live. ” - “It’s liberating to open yourself up and be truly seen by someone else. Not everyone gets to experience that in life. And I pray it happens to you too — but the lesson I hope you’ll learn, that I didn’t, is not to let go of the person who offers that to you just because you don’t want to take a risk.”