Lisette

In the early 1990s Catherine Rey struck up a friendship with fellow lonely soul, Lisette Nigot. Wreathed in mythology from her colourful past and possessed of a humorous, humane view of the world, she became Rey's closest confidant and mentor through uncertainty. But struggling with discomfort in her old age, Lisette grew intent on ending her life.

This book is the fulfilment of Rey's promise to Lisette: to honour their bond of rare honesty and empathy, and reckon with losing it. Refusing truisms we often rely on in grief, Rey weighs what keeps us attached to others and to ourselves, as well as the controversy of euthanasia. We are plunged into eternal questions: how does death influence life? What degree of autonomy is acceptable in society? What matters to us, as we grow older?

Part tribute to an incandescent woman, part contemplation of what comes to light or stays opaque with the passing of time, Lisette is a riveting record of the details that prove poignant and precious to us.

'What a wonderful work this is. Not a word wasted, and so much space for pain and ambiguity and speculation to do its work. In Rey's hands, an exquisitely intimate choice becomes universal, a deep meditation on life and its endings.' Hugh Riminton, journalist, author of Minefields: A life in the news game