As featured on BBC Radio 4

'Funny and touching' Sunday Times

'Extraordinary' Observer
'Full of both wisdom and humour' Julia Samuel
'Funny, moving, brave' Jeremy Bowen
'I had the privilege to conduct Simon's last broadcast interview - knowing his wise words on the page could live on afterwards' Emma Barnett

*****READER REVIEWS

'Simon's cheerful voice comes through every page'
'An absolute gift of a book ... This book has the potential to change your life'
'Stunning'

It isn't quite 'Don't buy any green bananas'. But it's close to 'Don't start any long books'.

In his mid-40s, Simon Boas was diagnosed with incurable cancer - it had been caught too late, and spread around his body. But he was determined to die as he had learned to live - optimistically, thinking the best of people, and prioritising what really matters in life.

In A Beginner's Guide to Dying Simon considers and collates the things that have given him such a great sense of peace and contentment, and why dying at 46 really isn't so bad. And for that reason it's also only partly about 'dying'. It is mostly a hymn to the joy and preciousness of life, and why giving death a place can help all of us make even more of it.

About the Author

Simon Boas was born in 1977 and spent his childhood in London and Winchester. He got the bug for Overseas Aid after delivering his first aid convoy to Bosnia (at 16) in 1993, and went on to spend his career working for development charities and the UN. He worked in Africa for many years, and lived in Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, Nepal, India, and the Palestinian Territories, including three years running a UN office in the Gaza Strip. He spent his last eight years living in Jersey, running the Island's Overseas Aid agency, accompanied by his beloved wife Aurelie and his scruffy French sheepdog, Pippin.

At 46 he was diagnosed with advanced throat cancer and had a year of living dyingly, during which he found himself as happy as he'd ever been. He wrote about this for his local paper, which went viral, and this encouraged him to try to expand on why hopping the twig at 46 really isn't so bad. A Beginner's Guide to Dying is the result.

Reviews

'Has anyone ever written a more inspirational paean to the joy of life?' - Daily Mail

'A funny, touching meditation on death' - Rosamund Urwin, Sunday Times

'Extraordinary ... The late author's reflections on his cancer diagnosis thrum with life and wit, and will make you laugh and cry' - Alex Preston, Observer

'Boas's cheerful stoicism seems to have touched the nation' - Daily Telegraph

'As Simon Boas treads the pathway we shall all tread he is funny, compassionate and wise. A book not to be missed' - Sir Terry Waite

'Simon Boas' outlook on life is an inspiration to us all, and his wonderful book is full of both wisdom and humour' - Julia Samuel, author of Grief Works

'I had the privilege to conduct Simon's last broadcast interview - knowing his wise words on the page could live on afterwards. How lucky we all are to have someone as generous as him to share such important perspectives on life while dying' - Emma Barnett

'I hope this tiny treasure chest of a book will be read, shared, gifted, laughed with, cried over, thought about and reflected on far and wide' - Kathryn Mannix, author of With the End in Mind

'Funny, moving, brave, sensible - and without self pity. Simon's book celebrates human resilience and reminds us all to enjoy life while we have it' - Jeremy Bowen

Book Information
ISBN 9781800755215
Author Simon Boas
Format Paperback
Page Count 160
Imprint Swift Press
Publisher Swift Press