Last Read of 2025

I finished The Collected Regrets of Clover just before midnight on New Year's Eve. I started reading the paperback at the Phillip-Schaeffer Library. Dave and I spent several hours in the library waiting to check into our hotel. They had a nice selection of books in English.

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer is a 2023 title. It is a sweet little story about Clover, a death doula, from New York City. Clover loves her job ushering the dying out of this life. Clover's parents died when she was young. She has serious trust issues as a result.

She lives her life through 90s rom-coms. She also idolizes a couple in a window across from her brownstone. She visits local "death cafes" where people come to talk about death. Her only true friends are 85 year old neighbor, Leo, and an elderly bookstore owner.

She has only had one friend her age, and their friendship ended in what to Clover felt like an utter betrayal. I relate to Clover's anxiety over making new friends. It is scary. It requires courage and energy and investment. Clover could have become friends with folks from the Death Cafes, but she kept to herself.

Likewise, I can relate to living life through television. I love a rom-com. I lived vicariously through Sex and the City for nearly a decade. I can become truly invested in fictional characters so much that when their story is over it feels like death.

Through a series of events, Clover begins to make a few new friends: Sebastian and Sylvia. Clover begins to have new life experiences. She slowly begins to make her way out of her shell.

Though the plot heavily centers around death, it was a light and easy read. I would recommend this book. I did not like the narration of the audio book. Possibly because I started reading the book and gave Clover my own voice.