An Ocean and a Day

An utterly riveting, moving and poignant memoir of grief and loss that will speak to anyone who's ever lost someone they love.

'An Ocean and a Day is a gift for those who have suffered the loss of someone so dearly loved. Much like Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking, it offers a glimmer of hope in a seemingly endless well of sorrow.' Books+Publishing

In 2014, author Hannah Richell was living a happy and fulfilled life in Sydney. Married, with two young children, she was in the middle of writing her new novel when the police knocked at her door to tell her that her husband, Matt, had been killed in a surfing accident at Tamarama beach. An Ocean and a Day is the riveting, intimate and poignant story of the journey she travelled over the first two years of loss, but it is also, more uniquely, an account of what happens beyond those early years, when time and distance offer perspective and hope.

Life-affirming and illuminating, An Ocean and a Day is a book about love and loss, marriage and mothering, healing and hope, and how we face the hardest days of our lives. It is a book that will make you draw your loved ones close, and maybe even leave you a little transformed.

PRAISE FOR AN OCEAN AND A DAY:

'A searing reflection on the fragility of life which never loses sight of the miraculous beauty of being alive.' Leigh Sales, Any Ordinary Day

'So much love in every beautiful word. My heart hurt so much and yet I could not look away. The writing is vital and filled with so much sorrow and so much love. Sublime.' Favel Parrett, There Was Still Love

'Hannah Richell writes about grief and its aftermath with excoriating honesty and with exceptional beauty. A work of great tenderness, a celebration of love and of life. I loved it.' Kathryn Heyman, Circle of Wonders

'Raw, unflinching, tender, hopeful -Richell pulled me through her loss as if it were my own. This is grief writing at its very best.' Emma Grey, The Last Love Note

'Depth charges of emotion, and strength. Unputdownable' Nikki Gemmell, Wing

'Warmth, truth and wisdom live on every page of this beautiful and moving memoir about the loss of a wonderful and inspiring man ... With measured candour, a delicate touch, and a careful eye for the telling detail, Hannah Richell achieves what only the very best memoir can: she holds a space in which the reader can meet themselves. As you read, you realise that this profoundly generous book tells the deeper story of all our lives. It will leave you feeling more human.' Chris Cleave, Everyone Brave is Forgiven

'I love this book. So moving. So precise. Hannah has put her broken heart on the page so beautifully and I think it will help a lot of people.' - Cathy Rentzenbrink How to Feel Better

About the Author

Before becoming a published writer, Hannah Richell worked in the book publishing and film industries in London and Sydney. She is the author of six international bestsellers, including Secrets of the Tides, The Search Party and One Dark Night.

Her work has been translated into twenty-one languages. Hannah is a dual citizen of Great Britain and Australia and currently lives near Bath the southwest of England. An Ocean and a Day is her first work of non-fiction.