Mortality & Death

"Nothing can be said to be certain," wrote Ben Franklin, "except death and taxes." And yet, death is often ignored, dismissed, or delayed as an experience worth contemplating—until we are forced to reckon with it head-on. The books in this collection do their own reckoning.

Get a Life, Chloe Brown

by Talia Hibbert

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Disability, Death, Loyalty & Betrayal, Social Class, Friendship, Art, Forgiveness, Animals, Safety & Danger, Perseverance, Love, Hate & Anger, Grief, Fear, Conflict, Loneliness, Hope

Tags Romance, Humor, Health, British Literature, Disability, Modern Classic Fiction

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Ghost Story

by Peter Straub

Publication year 1979

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Memory, Regret, Shame & Pride, Revenge, Aging, Death, The Past, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Music, Art, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Femininity, Sexual Identity, Friendship, Marriage, Mothers, Siblings, Teamwork, Order & Chaos, Justice, Equality

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Religion & Spirituality

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Gilead

by Marilynne Robinson

Publication year 2004

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Memory, Family, Daughters & Sons

Tags Historical Fiction, Christian, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Classic Fiction

Published in 2004, Gilead is Marilynne Robinson’s second novel and the first in the Gilead trilogy, which includes Home (2008) and Lila (2014). The story is written as a letter from dying Congregationalist minister John Ames to his young son. The letter is a bittersweet account of John’s life. With a slow, thoughtful pace and intimate tone, John shares past family memories and resolves an old personal grievance with his best friend’s son. As John... Read Gilead Summary

Girl, Interrupted

by Susanna Kaysen

Publication year 1993

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Mental Health, The Past, Femininity, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Death, Memory, Science & Technology

Tags Depression & Suicide, Mental Illness, Psychology, Gender & Feminism, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Health, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, Psychology, Classic Fiction, Biography

Susanna Kaysen’s 1993, Girl, Interrupted, is a memoir that explores Kaysen’s time as a teenage psychiatric patient in McLean Hospital in the late 1960s. Kaysen explores the murky definitions of mental health and illness, as she recounters her experience of being diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and makes compelling arguments about the subjective nature of personality, behavior, and disorder. Girl, Interrupted is a bestselling book and was adapted into the 1999 film starring Winona Ryder... Read Girl, Interrupted Summary

God of Malice

by Rina Kent

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Hope, Love, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Death, Family, Friendship, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Art, Fate, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, Horror & Suspense, New Adult

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Goodbye Days

by Jeff Zentner

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Grief, Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Grief & Death, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness

Goodbye Days is a young adult novel by Jeff Zentner. Published in 2017, it follows a teenage boy, Carver Briggs, who is grappling with the deaths of his three best friends. All three boys died in a car crash on their way to pick up Carver from work. Carver’s survivor’s guilt is exacerbated by the fact that he’s facing a possible criminal investigation for “negligent homicide” for his supposed role in the accident. Carver texted... Read Goodbye Days Summary

Goodbye, Eri

by Tatsuki Fujimoto

Publication year 2022

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Loneliness, Memory, Nostalgia, Mental Health, Shame & Pride, Coming of Age, Death, Family, Self Discovery, Art, Order & Chaos

Tags Coming of Age, Love & Sexuality

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Goodbye, Mr. Chips

by James Hilton

Publication year 1934

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Education, Memory, Death, The Past, Marriage

Tags Historical Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Education, British Literature

Goodbye, Mr. Chips, James Hilton’s novella about a mild-mannered teacher at a fictional British boys’ school, originally appeared in 1933 as a supplement to the British Weekly, an evangelical newspaper. Its popularity, however, led to its reprinting in the April 1934 issue of the American magazine Atlantic Monthly and later, its publication as a book by Little, Brown and Company in the US and by Hodder & Stoughton in the United Kingdom. An instant bestseller... Read Goodbye, Mr. Chips Summary

Great and Precious Things

by Rebecca Yarros

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Conflict, Grief, Guilt, Love, Memory, Disability, Mental Health, Aging, The Past, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Fate, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, Military & War, Contemporary Literature, Dramatic Literature

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Great Big Beautiful Life

by Emily Henry

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Grief, Guilt, Love, Memory, Death, Future, The Past, Family, Friendship, Mothers, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Art, Fame, Fate, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

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Greater Love

by Wilfred Owen

Publication year 1918

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Love, War, Death, Masculinity, Truth & Lies

Tags Lyric Poem, Military & War, Grief & Death, Trauma & Abuse, European History, World War I, British Literature, The Lost Generation

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Gulp

by Mary Roach

Publication year 2013

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Death, Animals, Education

Tags Humor, Science & Nature, Food, Health

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