Nobody Ever Talks About Anything But the End
CBC Books | | Posted: February 18, 2020 4:16 PM | Last Updated: February 18, 2020
Liz Levine
I feel like I might be a terrible person to be laughing in these moments. But it turns out, I'm not alone.
In November of 2016, Liz Levine's younger sister, Tamara, reached a breaking point after years of living with mental illness. In the dark hours before dawn, she sent a final message to her family then killed herself.
In Nobody Ever Talks About Anything But the End, Liz weaves the story of what happened to Tamara with another significant death — that of Liz's childhood love, Judson, to cancer. She writes about her relationship with Judson, Tamara's struggles, the conflicts that arise in a family of challenging personalities, and how death casts a long shadow. This memorable account of life and loss is haunting yet filled with dark humor — Tamara emails her family when Trump is elected to check if she's imagining things again, Liz discovers a banana has been indicted as a whistleblower in an alleged family conspiracy, and a little niece declares Tamara's funeral the "most fun ever!"
With honesty, Liz exposes the raw truths about grief and mourning that we often shy away from — and almost never share with others. And she reveals how, in the midst of death, life — with all its messy complications — must also be celebrated. (From Simon & Schuster)
In November of 2016, Liz Levine's younger sister, Tamara, reached a breaking point after years of living with mental illness. In the dark hours before dawn, she sent a final message to her family then killed herself.
In Nobody Ever Talks About Anything But the End, Liz weaves the story of what happened to Tamara with another significant death — that of Liz's childhood love, Judson, to cancer. She writes about her relationship with Judson, Tamara's struggles, the conflicts that arise in a family of challenging personalities, and how death casts a long shadow. This memorable account of life and loss is haunting yet filled with dark humor — Tamara emails her family when Trump is elected to check if she's imagining things again, Liz discovers a banana has been indicted as a whistleblower in an alleged family conspiracy, and a little niece declares Tamara's funeral the "most fun ever!"
With honesty, Liz exposes the raw truths about grief and mourning that we often shy away from — and almost never share with others. And she reveals how, in the midst of death, life — with all its messy complications — must also be celebrated. (From Simon & Schuster)
Levine is a television and film producer who has worked on Story of a Girl and jPod. Her writing has appeared in the National Post, The Walrus and the Vancouver Sun. Nobody Ever Talks About Anything But the End is her first book.