THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

‘Joyful, hilarious, effervescent, brilliant and deeply wise’ Glennon Doyle, on Alua Arthur

Thinking deeply about your death – whether it’s imminent or not – will breathe wild new potential into your life.

Warm, generous and funny, Alua Arthur is a death doula supporting people at the end of the world. What emerges in these tender moments is the unfi nished business of life, when enduring regrets, secret loves and simple pleasures are uttered aloud, in resignation or delight.

Weaving together these vivid experiences along with her own personal life path full of wonder, Briefly Perfectly Human is a soul-gathering memoir. Alua’s intimate storytelling, compassion and wisdom are a beacon of comfort to us all as well as a tour de force appeal to cherish every part of who we are, including our own mortality.

‘Hold that truth in your mind,’ Alua says, ‘and wondrous things will begin to grow around it.’

"Briefly Perfectly Human is a beautiful, raw, light-bringing experience. Be prepared for it to grab you, hold you tight, and raise the roof on the power of human connection." - Tembi Locke, author of From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home

"Briefly Perfectly Human is a deeply urgent, divinely-inspired memoir that guides our understanding of death as an inevitable part of this glorious human experience. Her extraordinary insight into how we can truly live is inspiring." - Michele Harper, author of The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir