Dottie and the art of dying

 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Emotional Engaging Intriguing

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Spirituality

Dottie and the Art of Dying by Sarah Asermily - Author  ⚰

To my mind (and I could be incorrect here) people who are given a terminal diagnosis and an idea of how long they have, before it is their time to shuffle off this mortal coil, can be divided into three categories. There are those who are, naturally, sent into a flat spin panic and take up every offer of treatment that may prolong their life. There are those who accept their fate but refuse treatment, wanting to ensure the quality of the time they have left, as they still hold a modicum of optimism that the consultant who presented them with that fateful news may be wrong. Then there are those people who struggle to cope with the vision of what is ahead of them, shutting themselves off from their loved ones and the outside world. Dottie, however, is made of stern stuff and chooses the keep calm and carry on approach, seeing no point in progressing with treatments that may in fact make her feel as poorly as she has been informed she is. She wants to enjoy the time left she has with her children and grandchildren, and whilst she did not want to leave them, she relished the opportunity of seeing Frank again. She did not however bargain on her journey after this one, being far more challenging than her sixty-seven years on earth….. 

From the moment that I saw that Sarah Assermily was writing this book, I had to read it. I imagined what Dottie would look like and was pleasantly surprised when Sarah revealed her cover and Dottie was the exact image that I had had in my head. It was a sign.

‘Dottie and the Art of Dying’ is a book of two halves, literally. I had imagined our heroine as a somewhat quirky and fun figure, which I imagine she had been in her younger days, travelling and having a good time. Now however, she is a mother of two and grandmother which I hadn’t expected. Due to my preconceptions, which I probably shouldn’t have had in the first place, this disappointed me a little initially, but her role as protector and nurturer to her two now adult offspring as well as her daughter’s children, grew on me the further I read. Her fierce defensiveness of Michael’s lifestyle choices was admirable and heart-warming. The calm way in which she handles Margot’s disbelieving of her mother’s reticence after the visit with Dr Mark, demonstrated a deep bond and understanding of her daughter at that moment, and that meeting Margot’s anger and bewilderment with the same emotions would not have helped. She knew exactly what to say to shut down her daughter’s interrogation and bring her some degree of peace. Dottie, gifting Margot the heirloom that had been handed down by the women in her family, together with her final conversation being with 8-year-old Camilla, were poignant and touching, as was her last visual exchange before closing her eyes. Sarah brings the conclusion of part one together well necessitating a need in you to continue into part two regardless of what you are doing.

Part two was altogether very different, but perhaps more of what I had initially expected from Dottie’s story in all those months awaiting publication. Whilst her perception of death is a direct ticket to the after life, where she will be greeted by all those she has loved and lost in life, a test, often harrowing and heart-breaking awaits her. Extremely well devised, although perhaps a little lengthy. Certain scenarios that Dottie finds herself in were more relatable, and therefore a smoother read than others and it isn’t until the end of Dottie’s enduring trial, that the sequence of events becomes apparent with startling perspective. As Dottie becomes more and more agitated with Nightingale, I myself did begin to know how she felt as I grew anxious to find out the reason for it all as much as Dottie herself! Although you may feel the same, there is a need for each and every one of those connections that she witnesses. 

After reading just one of Sarah’s books, I have had determined that she is in fact the queen of characters and conclusions, the way in which she has executed the ending to this well thought out story of love, loss, strength and self discovery, is both mind-blowing and beautiful with Dottie being given the chance to see her daughter one last time with the knowledge that Margot also sees her, preceded by Dottie being transported to her final place, giving her a sense of what has happened on Earth since her untimely departure, and getting to see someone special she never got to meet. The final surprise wrapped up in Dottie’s antagonising companion in the ‘in between’ will, I hope, shock you as pleasantly as it did me, warm your heart, make you emotional and want to read it again. 📖