When the Feast is Finished

WHEN THE FEAST IS FINISHED is writer Brian Aldiss' moving account of his wife Margaret's fatal illness and her death from pancreatic cancer in November 1997. The book details how they first found out about the cancer, which was initially masked by a heart complaint. Margaret's illness is rapid. She goes from occasionally tired, to bedridden, in a matter of months. Brian Aldiss details the kindness of friends, and the support he receives from colleagues, doctors and the Macmillan nurses who care for Margaret. He speaks about the minutiae of existence; making his wife's increasingly sparrow-like breakfast, buying a new car, visiting an old home. He portrays his wife as stoical, uncomplaining and brave, and he shows how the tragedy affects his four children. While looking through some of Margaret's old diaries, he comes across some unflattering comments about himself, along with some very loving words. The experience is humbling. He and his wife visit a hospice for the terminally ill and Margaret eventually asks to be taken there. This frank and un-writerly memoir is as human and accessible account of dying and being bereaved as you will read.