Non-Fiction

Life. Death. Whatever.

Agent: Lauren Gardner

Anna is an end-of-life doula and Louise is a funeral director, and together they are the team behind Life. Death. Whatever. Their joint mission is to redesign the dialogue around death and dying, to open it up and to find new approaches to this important subject. They believe that death is a normal part of life and dying is part of living. Acknowledging and accepting that one day we will die is fundamental to living a full life. It’s as simple and as complicated as that.

Life. Death. Whatever. is many things. It began life as a ground-breaking festival, which ran in partnership with the National Trust; it developed into an international community of eclectic people from many different disciplines (artists, writers, funeral professionals, hospice and hospital workers, counsellors, medical staff and interested members of the public) who are united in a commitment to doing death differently; it’s also an approach that influences their individual work - a forward-thinking, educational, honest, approachable, transparent, bold and brave way of addressing the inevitable.

Their debut book WE ALL KNOW HOW THIS ENDS, is a journey through their work, an exploration of their approach and a collection of the often heartbreaking, always surprising and occasionally uplifting stories that have inspired them to live, to love and to live some more. It’s a reflection on the blessings and tragedies of life, the exquisite agony and ecstasy of being alive, and the fragility of everything they hold dear. Published by Green Tree (Bloomsbury) in March 2021.