About 36 Hours
Shortlisted for the East Anglian Book Awards 2023.
Less than a year after being diagnosed with inoperable cancer, Fiona Mason’s husband died at home. She was his carer. Unflinching in its detail, this book is a delicate chronicle of his last day and an account of thirty-six hours that changed her life. It’s also an invitation to find better ways to talk about death and dying.
Author – Fiona Mason
Originally from the Midlands, Fiona Mason now lives between the salt marshes of the east of England, and the Ariege Pyrenees in southwest France where she’s renovating a house with her partner.
She holds MAs in Philosophy (Essex) and Creative and Life Writing (Goldsmiths), and combines her work as a writer with roles as a coach, mentor and creative writing tutor.
She’s at her happiest when lost in words or exploring a wild landscape.
Published 11 November 2022
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Praise for 36 Hours
Fiona’s intimate account of the last thirty-six hours of a man’s life is a powerful work of life writing. It’s courageous, tender, exasperated, angry, lyrical and occasionally even funny, but never voyeuristic. The simplicity of the prose and the honesty of observation are compelling.
BLAKE MORRISON
This is a beautiful and moving account by Fiona Mason of her husband’s death at home. Their experience of care professionals, who attended in person yet without compassion, is so deftly observed it made me wince. A perfect 36 Hour memoir. It’s incredibly powerful. It’s beautifully told. It’s a gem. I think this is a book that has the power to make a difference.
DR KATHRYN MANNIX
Very moving and beautifully written. Marvellously clear and brave.
JENNY UGLOW OBE
Powerful and precise writing. It tackles elusive emotional states in a highly nuanced way. The detail is so lovingly preserved and presented.
SASHA DUGDALE
Rarely have I felt so transported by someone else’s words. Fiona draws you into the most intimate and personal of spaces and offers you the privilege of sharing thirty-six hours that would normally be invisible to the outside world. With great honesty and generosity, she invites us into her home as she cares for her dying husband. It’s an invitation you won’t want to turn down.
BOBBIE FARSIDES, Professor of Clinical and Biomedical Ethics, Brighton and Sussex Medical School
36 Hours addresses an area of real current debate and interest and does so in a way that prioritises both aesthetic and human concerns equally. Committed and talented writing.
CHRIS GRIBBLE, National Centre for Writing
The writing is vivid and very clear, highlighting the delicate balance and poignancy of the work involved in end-of-life care and the minutiae of support involved in the simplest of daily activities, making the mundane poetic. A remarkable piece of work.
KATE FLATT OBE
Deeply moving and intensely raw.
LI MILLS, Death Doula
I’m in awe of the honesty and openness with which Fiona described her experience. Her account is a wonderful way of opening up some much-needed conversations about death and dying, not only at a public/societal level but, also at the patient-professional level.
DR SIMONE ALI, Consultant in Palliative Medicine
36 Hours is such a powerful, moving and beautifully written book. Fi share’s the truth of such an intimate and harrowing experience with so much clarity, grace and compassion. This story speaks to the need for more humanity in the treatment and care for those facing end of life.
TOBY OLIVER, Author, Rise and Shine
The Writing Life Podcast
Listen to Fiona Mason chat with National Centre for Writing CEO about writing 36 Hours and her life as a writer: The Craft of Life Writing: Fiona Mason
Publication Details
| Title: | 36 Hours |
| Author: | Fiona Mason |
| Publication: | 11 November 2022 |
| Publisher: | Word After Word Press |
| Genre: | Non-fiction |
| Sub-genre: | Memoir |
| Price: | £7.99 |
| ISBN: | 9781916165526 |
| Distributor: | Gardners |