Sarah Tarlow is on the podcast this week to talk about her memoir The Archaeology of Loss, this month’s Church Times book club title. Susan Gray has written a reflection on the book in the 6 September edition of the Church Times (read it here).

In her candid memoir, Sarah Tarlow excavates her memory to piece together the events and experiences leading up to her husband’s suicide, and traces the complicated grief which followed. Using her archaeological insights, the author makes parallels between what she has encountered through her professional work, tracing the rituals of death and commemoration, with the reality of her own personal situation. Nothing prepared her for the grim reality of caring for someone whose personality had been so affected by illness, and for her own struggles facing up to the actuality of loss.

Sarah Tarlow is Professor of Historical Archaeology at the University of Leicester.

She is in conversation with Sarah Meyrick, whose latest novel is Joy and Felicity (Sacristy Press, 2021). 

The Archaeology of Loss is published by Picador at £10.99 (Church Times Bookshop £9.89).

The Church Times Book Club is run in association with the Festival of Faith and Literature. 

Sign up to receive the free Book Club email once a month. Featuring discussion questions, podcasts and discounts on each book: churchtimes.co.uk/newsletter-signup

Discuss this month’s book at facebook.com/groups/churchtimesbookclub

Click the play button above to listen to this podcast. You can also listen to the Church Times Podcast on the Church Times app for iPhone and iPad, SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and most other podcast platforms. Music for the podcast is by Twisterium.