Sorry for Your Loss: What Working with the Dead Taught me About Life

Following Kate Marshall’s first year in the mortuary at a north of England NHS hospital, with each month exploring the people she meets, in life and death, as well as her own growing awareness of life behind the veil. 

Meet Mr X: Found in his apartment months after his death, Mr X has no relatives that can be traced. He is the longest-serving resident of the mortuary, having been there for almost a year while the search for his elusive family continues. The staff talk to him like an old friend, but Mr X is disintegrating and a decision has to be made soon.

Meet Mary: Her baby girl has been lost in the 15th week of pregnancy, Mary’s last chance to have a child. Mary won’t allow Abigail to leave the mortuary until she has finished reading a book to her. She visits twice each day, sitting with her baby, reading to her, speaking to no one, until she finally opens up to Kate.

Meet Joe: A loving husband and father who has died suddenly of a heart attack. Joe is visited by his wife, his children – and his mistress. On the day that all his worlds collide, Kate witnesses how death can finally reveal the truth of years of lies.

Sorry for Your Loss is haunting, uplifting and informative, with many moments of laughter, and shows us that the way we approach death can make life all the more precious.

Kate Marshall has worked in mental health, special needs and in the field of bereavement for many years with roles incorporating the coroner's office, mortuary and Bereavement Services. She lives in Cheshire. Linda Watson-Brown is a ghostwriter who has worked on more than 30 titles, many of them Sunday Times bestsellers.

Linda Watson-Brown is a ghostwriter who has worked on more than 30 titles, many of them Sunday Times bestsellers.