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Title details for The Archaeology of Loss by Sarah Tarlow - Wait list

The Archaeology of Loss

Life, love and the art of dying

by Sarah Tarlow
Sarah Tarlow
Audiobook
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My whole adult life, I have made a study of death.
A stunning blend of the personal and professional, The Archaeology of Loss is Sarah Tarlow's first memoir. An accomplished archaeologist, much of Sarah's work is concerned with the ritual and belief behind the practice of grief. In 2012, she was awarded the Chair in Archaeology at the University of Leicester. But in the years that followed this appointment, Sarah's husband, Mark, would begin to suffer from a progressive but undiagnosed illness, finally resulting in his inability to drive, to walk, to taste or to care for himself. Though Sarah had devoted her professional life to the study of emotion, of how we anticipate and experience grief, nothing could have prepared her for the realities of care-giving, of losing someone you love and the helplessness attached to both.
A fiercely honest and unique memoir, The Archaeology of Loss describes a collective experience with an unflinching and singular gaze and will undoubtedly speak to listeners of The Salt Path and H is for Hawk. Told with humour, intelligence and urgency, this is an unforgettable experience.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 20, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781529099546
      • File size: 227307 KB
      • Duration: 07:53:33

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 2, 2024
      In this vivid and moving memoir, archaeologist Tarlow (Harnessing the Power of the Criminal Corpse) dissects historical death rituals while navigating her own grief after her husband’s death. Following a long illness, Tarlow’s partner, Mark, died in 2016. In accessible, driving prose, she interweaves recollections of their 18-year relationship with descriptions of and meditations on burial processes she’s encountered in the archaeological field or read about in scholarly texts. “I do not feel awkward around bereaved people, nor have I ever felt unable to talk about my own grief,” Tarlow writes, but Mark’s illness pushed her to “the limits of my conversational ease.” After he died, she began to grow resentful of the expectation that she suppress unsavory feelings of anger or relief as she dealt with her loss. To process this discomfort, she buried herself in 15th- and 16th-century texts including Thomas Becon’s The Sick Mannes Salve and William Caxton’s The Arte and Crafte to Know Well to Dye, which turn over questions of pride and dignity in dying and offer tips on the “perfect death.” Thanks to these and other sources, Tarlow was reminded that her experiences existed on a long continuum. The result is a refreshingly tough-minded—but still tender—alternative to standard grief memoirs. Agent: Kirsty McLachlan, Morgan Green Creatives.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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