Being a young widow myself, I truly believe everyone's grief is both different and valid. So while Larkin's experience doesn't necessarily reflect my own, I enjoyed reading her story. I didn't necessarily love the structure (her talking to her deceased fiancee and retelling him their love story) because magical realism isn't my thing..... But the story itself was a good one. She goes back in time and reflects on her own adoption and reuniting with her birth parents, fast-forwards to her post-divorce life, and then recounts her meeting & falling in love with Bhima... and then updates him on her life after his passing. For a story about death, this is not a depressing read so don;'t let that scare you off. This is a quick read and insight into one woman's later-in-life love and too-early-in-life loss.

I love memoirs, give me all of them! I’m really fascinated by people’s lives and the stories they choose to tell. For me, this book stood out for its unique tone and style, but ultimately, it left me with mixed feelings.

The title caught my attention right away, and I was surprised by how whimsical and even fictional the story sometimes felt. Alison writes with a romantic an interesting romantic touch and I really appreciated her voice and sense of humor as it added a lightness to some very emotional topics, but overall surprised me from what I was expecting.

There were moments when I felt a bit bored or disconnected. I wanted to go deeper into her feelings and understand more about the events she was describing. Some parts felt glossed over, and I was left wishing for more emotional depth and detail to really connect with her journey.

Overall, it was an enjoyable and unique read, and unlike other memoirs I've read, but maybe it wasn't for me.

With the title and synopsis, I thought this might be up my alley. I have experienced alot of grief in my life and usually will enjoy books that have that but this one didn't hit for me.

"Grief... A Comedy" by Alison Larkin is a heartwarming and humorous exploration of love, loss, and hope. The story begins with the author's personal experience of coping with grief, showcasing how people deal with it in different ways, from substance abuse to writing a solo comedy show. Larkin's journey takes an interesting turn when Bhima, presumably a loved one, appears at her kitchen table six weeks after passing away, determined to help her find love again.

Thank you Alison Larkin and NetGalley for an ARC of this memoir, in return of my honest review.

Alison is a comedian in her 50’s with two adult children, divorced when she meets the absolute love of her life. The one. The person who finally after years avoiding love shows it to her full frontal. The love that Alison always shied from because she feared so much of loosing it.

Enter Bhima.
Enter a love so grand, unlike anything ever before.

Bhima shows Alison what true love is. They fall splendidly, luxuriously in Joe Dove.

They make wonderful plans for their ever lasting happy future, unbeknown that within mere days of deciding to marry Bhima unexpectedly and tragically dies, his body leaving Alison forever.

In her memoir, Alison unfolds the beautiful memories they created, and her grief which of course leaves her wanting to hide from the world and all the pain that unfolded. Thankfully Bhima and Alison’s adult children would allow no such thing to occur.

Bhima accompanies Alison throughout her grief, he sits with her, her converses with her, he sticks around and when he believes she is ready he, along with her children pushes her to reinter the world and continue living surrounding herself in connections and the love of others.

Through the process Alison realised that in the process of losing this love she now feels more alive than ever.

Thank you Archbishop Desmond Tutu for your encouragement to Alison, to write her story.
This is a beautiful memoir, amongst the pain there was beautiful humour and love, lots of it.
I highly recommend reading this and sharing Alison’s journey of grief.

Thank you for the opportunity to read your memoir and provide my honest review.

How do you write about grief without getting swallowed by it? Grief… A Comedy pulls off the nearly impossible: it finds real, warm, laugh-out-loud light in the shadow of profound loss.

Alison’s story is both intimate and universal. In the wake of a life-changing love and a devastating loss, she begins to experience moments that blur the line between memory, imagination, and something more. What follows is a deeply human, often hilarious exploration of how we continue to live, love, and even laugh when the unthinkable happens.

This book stands out not just because it’s about grief, but because it dares to treat grief as a living, evolving, and sometimes absurd companion. There’s an existential undertone—the kind that wonders what any of this means, and how we go on—but it’s delivered with such sharp wit and compassion that you never feel lost in the heaviness.

Instead, you feel seen.

What makes Grief… A Comedy truly special is its voice: brave, funny, vulnerable, and emotionally honest in a way that’s both disarming and healing. Whether it’s an unexpected conversation or a too-real moment of navigating life post-loss, the book reminds us that to grieve is to have loved—and that love doesn’t end. It simply changes shape.

If you’ve ever loved deeply, lost suddenly, or questioned the rules of what’s “real,” this story will stay with you. It’s not just a book—it’s a permission slip to keep going, messily and meaningfully.

#AlisonLarkinPresents #NetGalley

What a wonderful book told with so much heart and humor. Allison is a gifted writer and comedian, and she taps into both gifts to bring this story of love and loss and hope to life. She doesn't diminish grief, she explores it.

There is no sugarcoating of the pain of grief, yet there is beauty in the use of language and the story is filled with people who, for the most part, are sweet and relatable. I enjoyed going to the coffee shop with Allison and seeing the Bobs - there are several - and the other regulars who become dear friends.

The first part of the book that focuses on the love story between her and Bhima is sweet and funny and touching. It made me smile to follow them from first awkward moments to this is it - the love they both had been searching for their whole lives. And I so appreciated the fact that it was the love relationship that was paramount in the telling, without any graphic sex scenes.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. Even though some of the subject matter is dark and heavy, there is plenty of light and humor to appreciate, as well as a great deal of wisdom.

This book was just okay to me. I enjoyed reading it but nothing about it stands out. I’ve finished and already forgotten what I read. I’m sure it will hit with some people, just not with me.

for such a heavy topic this book had me laughing much more than i expected! Larkin tells her and Bhima's love story with such grace and joy I felt like I knew him myself. She was able to broach the heavier topics with the the levity that they necessitate but never lost her voice and the resounding theme that their love was worth the wait. Larkin's voice and narrative style greatly reminded me of Nora McInerny of Bad Vibes Only. Overall this was an easy and very enjoyable read - one i'd recommend to anyone looking for both a laugh and a cry.

I just did not like this book that much. I really wanted to but I didn’t find the author identifiable to me

The title obviously caught my attention and I was happy to receive an arc. This story was obviously heartbreaking but also uplifting. I loved it,

Oh my, what a book. I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. I laughed, I cried and I was blown away. I wish I would have had the opportunity to see the one woman shows but I'm so grateful that this story is out in the world. I'm going to look fir it on audio book because I would love to hear it in the author's voice. What an amazing talent . I have had many conversations with my Mother since she passed and while bodies do end Love never does!

This was such a wonderful read! Larkin’s voice is so naturally funny, and structuring this book around a literal ghost was such an interesting choice that I think really paid off.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7587383036

quick, upbeat, and interesting book by a very interesting person. very well written and equally funny and thought-provoking. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

How do you write about grief without getting overwhelmed by the intensity of it? Grief… A Comedy pulls off the nearly impossible: it finds light—real, warm, laugh-out-loud light—in the shadow of a devastating loss.

After falling deeply in love later in life, she loses Bhima—her soulmate—just five days after they decide to marry. But instead of sinking into despair, she hears him at her kitchen table. Imaginary? Maybe. But what follows is a deeply human, often hilarious exploration of how we keep loving, living, and even laughing when the person we love most is gone.

There’s an existential undertone here—the kind that asks what any of this means, and why we go on—but it’s delivered with such sharp wit and compassion that you never feel lost in the heaviness.

What makes this book truly special is its voice: brave, funny, vulnerable, and full of the kind of emotional honesty,

Grief… A Comedy reminds us that to grieve is to have loved—and that love doesn’t end when someone dies. It just changes shape. If you’ve ever loved deeply, lost suddenly, or questioned the rules of what’s “real,” this book will stay with you.

Alison's book takes a true look at grief and life in a bold and new approach. Instead of playing the victim of some of life's brutal moments (first husband loosing all their money for instance), she shows how she finds peace/joy in her life when meeting Bhima. From there, you get to follow along as she falls in love with Bhima and the after... where some would say she starts to live again post Covid.
While I don't want to focus on the plot line because I want there to be some surprising parts to the book, the few plot lines I want to mention: 1. the book is mostly focused around the death of Bhima. And the retelling of her life to him (KEY POINT HERE).
The only reason I ranked this four stars is because I don't think everyone will enjoy the way she talks about death... she talks about it from a humanistic point of view and openly about the parts that happen after death (like being alone).
What I do love about this book are some of the great lines that really show how different it is to live once someone has passed... one of my favorites is "I've got to carry on living, and there are these rules one must abide by if one wants to be considered sane".
A must read if you want a more open approach to grief and less self helpish.

Embarrassingly, before this book I was not familiar with Alison Larkin. But 2.5 years ago I experienced my first round of real, capital G, Grief. And like most people experiencing Grief for the first time, I am constantly seeking out other’s experiences with Grief so that I can, obviously, relate it back to my own. And oh boy was I able to relate so much of Alison’s story of Grief back to my own (despite experiencing completely different circumstances.)

We know the ending before we know the beginning. Bhima has passed. But he isn’t gone. Together, Alison and Bhima take us through Alison’s journey to find love (true, real, actual love), her magical romance with Bhima, his tragic passing, and the steps Alison took next as she faced a life where she was still very much alive.

The pacing for this book is fantastic. The anticipation of Alison meeting Bhima. The anticipation of his death. And finally the reflections and questions Alison asks about grief and connection and life after death. When I wasn’t reading , I was thinking about this book. And of course crying my eyes out. (My eyes have been swollen for three days and I am in no danger of developing dry eye.)

So much about this book, and Alison’s story, resonated with me. I think this is a powerful book.

From Alison Larkin, an English American writer, producer, prolific audiobook narrator (aided by her ability to capture multiple accents and genders), standup comedian, podcaster, and voice actor, comes a wonderful new book titled Grief...a Comedy, based on her second solo show. Her earlier show (and subsequent book), The English American, chronicled her relocation to the US to find her birth mother and her move to NYC to become a standup comedian (sometimes on the same lineup as Marc Maron and Dave Chappelle, back in the day) and actress, while this one explores new territory.

In her fifties, Alison wondered why she had never been in love, even though she had been married and raised two children, and why her quest to find her soulmate hadn't been successful. But everything changed when she met Bhima--over a New York Times crossword puzzle-who had relocated from India to the US decades ago, and they struck up a beautiful relationship filled with love, humor, and stimulating conversation. The two families hit it off as well, and Alison and Bhima joyfully agreed they should get married.

But just four days later, their plans were irreparably destroyed by Bhima's sudden death . . . or were they? A few weeks later, Bhima just as suddenly reappeared in Alison's life, and their relationship continued as brilliantly as ever. The difference was that now Bhima was committed to helping Alison find another soulmate for the rest of her journey through life. And that he just might be a figment of Alison's imagination. But does it really matter?

I thoroughly enjoyed the couple's loving banter, even when there were some occasional cultural issues to resolve. I also appreciated the fact that Larkin found a way to move forward again and to continue to shoot for her goals of living her life, rather than just getting through it, and making the world a better place. And who can resist a book where Archbishop Desmond Tutu plays a brief but important role?

Despite the title, this is a life-affirming, upbeat book, and one that will only require a bit of your time (around 200 pages long). I sped through it, enraptured by what I found on each page.

My thanks to Alison Larkin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.