Memorial Days

A Memoir

By: Geraldine Brooks

Narrated by: Geraldine Brooks

A New York Times Bestseller

“Brooks tracks the geography of grief with patience and grace as she comes to terms with the ongoing nature of outliving the ones you love most. ... Her memoir is certainly a testament to her own unique loss, but it’s moreover a lifeline to others who will find themselves in this familiar, shattered landscape of grief.”—Los Angeles Times

“A rich account of marriage and mourning.”—Washington Post

A heartrending and beautiful memoir of sudden loss and a journey towards peace, from the bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Horse

Many cultural and religious traditions expect those who are grieving to step away from the world. In contemporary life, we are more often met with red tape and to-do lists. This is exactly what happened to Geraldine Brooks when her partner of more than three decades, Tony Horwitz–just sixty years old and, to her knowledge, vigorous and healthy–collapsed and died on a Washington, D. C. sidewalk.

After spending their early years together in conflict zones as foreign correspondents, Geraldine and Tony settled down to raise two boys on Martha’s Vineyard. The life they built was one of meaningful work, good humor, and tenderness, as they spent their days writing and their evenings cooking family dinners or watching the sun set with friends at the beach. But all of this ended abruptly when, on Memorial Day 2019, Geraldine received the phone call we all dread. The demands were immediate and many. Without space to grieve, the sudden loss became a yawning gulf.

Three years later, she booked a flight to a remote island off the coast of Australia with the intention of finally giving herself the time to mourn. In a shack on a pristine, rugged coast she often went days without seeing another person. There, she pondered the various ways in which cultures grieve and what rituals of her own might help to rebuild a life around the void of Tony’s death.

A spare and profoundly moving memoir that joins the classics of the genre, Memorial Days is a portrait of a larger-than-life man and a timeless love between souls that exquisitely captures the joy, agony, and mystery of life.

©2024 Geraldine Brooks (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

A People Best Book of February 2025

“This intimate memoir of grief is a lifeline to others dealing with loss. ... Intensely intimate and candid ... Brooks tracks the geography of grief with patience and grace as she comes to terms with the ongoing nature of outliving the ones you love most. ... Her memoir is certainly a testament to her own unique loss, but it’s moreover a lifeline to others who will find themselves in this familiar, shattered landscape of grief.”—Los Angeles Times

“Brooks wield[s] precise and often beautiful language and, in the most graceful way possible, point[s] a way forward. A rich account of marriage and mourning ... Memorial Days contains much compassionate advice for those who have, or will, suffer the same ferocious blow.”—The Washington Post

“Brooks and her husband, Tony Horwitz, had been reporters in war zones, but nothing prepared her for his sudden death, at just 60, after three decades together. Four years later, she journeyed to a remote island near Tasmania “to do the unfinished work of grieving.” This memoir is her report back, at once a spare accounting of tragic detail and an appreciation of the healing properties of solitude.”—The New York Times Book Review

Honest portrayal of grief

Smart, thoughtful, and honest. Brooks writes a heartfelt memorial of a life. A process of grief which I felt deeply as one who has experienced devastating loss.

Phenomenal, as always by Geraldine Brooks

A beautiful incredible tribute to Tony Horowitz and Geraldine Brooks herself. Listening to Geraldine Reed it was especially lovely.

Her honesty

Her story and her help given to me in my own grief. She is resilient and honest.

Her grieving work comes through as a roadmap for us all.

The truth and emotion are easy to capture. The reflections in one chapter are set forth with her current mindset.

Wonderful, useful, meaningful.

I love Geraldine’s writing. I loved this personal exploration of one of the worst things that can happen to a married woman who loved her husband. Thank you Geraldine for opening your heart and letting us share you experience. I hope it helped you to write it. It is sure to help those of us who read it.

Lessons in grief

I most loved that Geraldine's story was so different than my own but also so much the same.

Healthy Grieving

Author’s journey with grief beautifully expressed with honesty and compassion as she recounts her famous husbands sudden death.

A beautiful story

Geraldine Brooks captures so many aspects of grieving in our culture. If you have a friend who has lost a loved one and want a glimpse into their journey, read this book.

I like the voice of the reader

I really like the gritty and realness of the author. I enjoyed the present day facts of events

Touching, practical guide to grief

Beautiful and intimate. Geraldine Brooks, slowly and gracefully shares her raw journey of unexpected loss. I appreciated learning about how this couple cultivated deep love, and the details of a man I never knew. While heartbreaking in its revelations, this book weaves a reality of grief that was very healing to experience.