Death of an Ordinary Man

Winner of the Nero Book Award for Non-Fiction, an unflinching and profoundly moving account of caring until death, from the Sunday Times bestselling author

WINNER OF THE NERO BOOK AWARD FOR NON-FICTION 2025

LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2026

Sarah Perry’s father-in-law David died in the autumn of 2022, only nine days after a cancer diagnosis. He was in some ways a very ordinary man: he loved stamp collecting, fish and chips, comic novels and his local church. Yet as Sarah and her husband Robert nursed David through his final days, they realised how extraordinary he really was.

This loving, clear-eyed and unforgettable book shows how death may be met and understood as a part of life – a universal experience that is terrible and beautiful, intimate and real, sometimes all at once.

A Book of the Year for The Times, Guardian, Financial Times and Observer

‘Beautiful and profound and completely gripping’ Mark Haddon
‘A must-read’ The Times
‘We cannot be but somewhat changed by this remarkable book’ Telegraph
‘This book will be a lifeline for so many people’ Seán Hewitt
‘Perry is in a league of her own’ Sara Collins

‘Please read this book. It may very well change how you live’ Rachel Clarke

‘Filled with love…I was spellbound’ Kathryn Mannix

‘Brilliant…so special’ Guardian