Let Not the Waves of the Sea - Simon Stephenson

Let Not the Waves of the Sea - Simon Stephenson (2011)

I guess one of my favorite genres of memoirs are the ones that deal with death and loss, which may seem creepy but seldom do I enjoy the ones that have super bubbly happy lives.  But thinking about it most autobiographies deal with the author dealing with some form of crisis and overcoming it. 

So Simon and his family awake to the news of the Boxing day Tsunami in the Indian ocean 2004, aware that his brother Dominic and partner Eileen are holidaying in a Thai Beach resort.  When they fail to hear from them, an uncle ventures south to see if he can identify any of the vast numbers of bodies found and reality sets in. 

It is overwhelming now to consider just how many people died, 230,000 is an amazing number to picture in any one group, and that huge families were just lost and so many bodies will never be identified or found.  I was talking to my dad about it, and how little we were shown on the news, compared to the Japanese earthquake and following Tsunami.  At the time though, our mum was ill and probably less time was spent in front of the TV as it was the middle of our summer, and many press would have been in the midst of holidays.

This book was sweet in its own special way as Simon talks about his relationship with his brother, growing up together in Scotland and how the grieving affected his life.  Returning to Thailand many times after the disaster I think he is searching for some lost connection to his brother that never really comes, and is surprised yet I think that when someone dies you won't find that at the cemetery, or where they lived or died, you can only find that connection within yourself, when the sadness ebbs away.

A 4/5 - as it was a good reminder to be kind to your family and friends in your own life, as you never know when they will be gone.