The Wrong Order of Things
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Pub Date 10 Sep 2026 | Archive Date 1 Nov 2026
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Description
The Wrong Order of Things is a rare look inside the heart-wrenching but heart-warming world of children’s palliative care, in both NHS hospitals and children’s hospices, by renowned consultant Dr Michelle Hills.
Thousands of children in the UK live with illnesses that will cause them to die in childhood. For these children and their families, life is exceptionally precious, and a special breed of medics help them live well and help them die well. Paediatric palliative care teams help them make the most of whatever time they have and provide a beacon of hope.
Cambridge-educated consultant Dr Michelle Hills is one of these brave doctors, willing to take on an emotionally rigorous job few would be able to do. She has devoted her career to working in the field. Her debut book gives a rare insight into this rarely talked about world.
The Wrong Order of Things is a collection of anonymised stories to touch the hearts of everyone. It is more than a lifeline to those who have experienced, or are currently experiencing, their own ordeal with a loved one and not just a vital insight to medics, carers and those dealing with other forms of loss or grief. This is about humanity and the magical power we all have to find strength, courage and little moments of happiness in the face of overwhelming adversity.
A child dying before their parents feels like the wrong order of things. This book explores the often-difficult path families must navigate - the delicate tightrope between having hope and accepting reality. Michelle shares the emotional decisions families face and how to find light in the darkest of times. She demystifies what palliative care is.
Through a series of anonymised composite real-life stories, the book covers the moments parents learn of a prognosis, sometimes at the point of an antenatal ultrasound scan, through to times when a child is taken off a ventilator, the moment a child takes their last breath, and beyond. Michelle describes tales of deeply challenging times as well as remarkable, tender, beautiful and at times funny moments. Perhaps most importantly she uncovers the lessons these children can teach each and every one of us about making the most of our uncertain lives and remembering and honouring those we have lost.
Advance Praise
"Michelle Hills draws us into the circle of thoughtful compassion around each child and family she introduces, as she helps us to contemplate the unthinkable: dying children. With grace and humility she explores how, when dying cannot be prevented, it can still be accompanied, soothed and made bearable for these children who will not reach adulthood. She calls us to be witnesses and safe listeners to the names and the stories welling in the hearts of bereaved families, asking us to turn towards them instead of turning away. This brave book explores the collaborative teamwork of children's palliative care services, whose focus is not to add days to life (although with good symptom management, that is often the case) but to add peace, fun, contentment and joy to every precious day that remains."
- Dr Kathryn Mannix, Sunday Times bestselling author and pioneer in palliative medicine
"This was truly the easiest of difficult reads. I would urge anyone with reservations about the subject to set these aside. Michelle uses the same wise and calm voice that clearly makes her such a comfort to her patients, to guide us through her work and the lessons it can teach us. Yes, I cried, but more often than this, I smiled. This book will stay with me for a long time."
- Evie King, author of Ashes to Admin
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Daily Express
BBC Radio 4
Yorkshire Evening Post
York Press
BBC Radio York & Leeds
Harrogate Informer
Advertising across Reach plc newspapers including the Mirror, Express and many regionals across the...
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781918517040 |
| PRICE | £10.99 (GBP) |
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Featured Reviews
Reviewer 2200809
The Wrong Order of Things by Michelle Hills
This is an emotional and poignant collection of real-life stories from an area of medicine we rarely hear about or discuss openly, that of paediatric palliative care. The stories are told from the perspective of Dr Michelle Hills, a Consultant in Paediatric Palliative Care and the Chief Medical Officer of Martin House Children’s Hospice. She is also Chair of the Royal College of Paediatrics and the Child Health Paediatric Palliative Medicine Specialist Advisory Committee.
Her experience at her job is what makes this book special in my opinion. She manages to talk about arguably the most difficult area of medicine with a lightness and a tenderness. I expected the book to feel heavy and rack me with emotion, however, I didn’t feel like this at all. Instead, we get little snippets of individual lives and reflections from the author, helping us navigate the complex web of emotions that is associated with grief. An essential book, as I believe we don’t talk about death and dying enough, or the process of grief and its highly individual nature.
An emotional, sometimes challenging but ultimately worthwhile read. The author and her colleagues’ humanity pours out of this book and it was heartening and humbling to hear her reflections.
5⭐️