Review: The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip by Sara Brunsvold

Genre: Women's Fiction 
Publisher: Revell
Released: July 5, 2022
368 pages

About the Book:

Aidyn Kelley is talented, ambitious, and ready for a more serious assignment than the fluff pieces she’s been getting as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star. In her eagerness, she pushes too hard, earning herself the menial task of writing an obituary for an unremarkable woman who’s just entered hospice care. But there’s more to Clara Kip than meets the eye. The spirited septuagenarian may be dying, but she’s not quite ready to cash it in yet. Never one to shy away from an assignment herself, she can see that God brought the young reporter into her life for a reason. And if it’s a story Aidyn Kelley wants, that’s just what Mrs. Kip will give her—but she’s going to have to work for it.

  

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a difficult read for me, but I suspected going in that it might be. We are following Mrs. Kip as she moves into hospice care and Aidyn is assigned to meet with her to write her obituary. Clara Kip is the first character we meet, and we know that she does not have long to live. Aidyn is a young journalist who believes she has been given this assigned as punishment but really, she has been sent to discover a bigger story. Mrs. Kip sees herself as having just lived an ordinary life with dreams unfulfilled. She always dreamed of going to Brazil and working with kids there to brighten their lives, but she was never able to go and is disappointed by that. However, the work she has done in her home of Kansas City for so many refuges made a big impact, not only on them but everyone around them and changed the cultural landscape of the community. As Aidyn speaks with Mrs. Kip she realizes just how many people she has helped and the ripple effect her life had on others. As Aidyn researches more about the impact Mrs. Kip’s actions had on the community she is astonished, inspired and touched. Mrs. Kip said her goal in life was to befriend people and be there and love people, she truly did this. Mrs. Kip explained it as “I simply tried to love people as best as I could for as long as I was privileged to be with them.” Through this attitude and example Mrs. Kip is able to witness to Aidyn during her last moments and shows God’s love to Aidyn. I loved Mrs. Kip, her personality and energy endured me to her. She had me laughing at comments made and at times being inspired by her. She shows love to those around her even when she is battling challenges herself. I did enjoy learning about a period of history I knew nothing about. What made this book hard for me was just how much the hospice care was described from the medical standpoint and what a person goes through as they're approaching their last days. It is not that it was graphic or anything it just brought back too many memories as I have personally experiencing being in a room with a loved on dying. Those are moments I don't really want to remember or relive. I’d rather relive the better days. Mrs. Kip was a wonderful example of showing love to others and how little actions matter. 

Favourite Quotes: 

“I simply tried to love people as best I could for as long as I was privileged to be with them.”

“Sometimes we do things in life without knowing what ripples flow from it long afterward.”

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 

in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)