*INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER* *AN OBSERVER DEBUT OF 2022* *AS FEATURED ON FRONT ROW* When we go through something impossible, someone, or something, will help us, if we let them . . . It is October 1966 and William Lavery is having the night of his life at his first black-tie do. But, as the evening unfolds, news hits of a landslide at a coal mine. It has buried a school: Aberfan. William decides he must act, so he stands and volunteers to attend. It will be his first job as an embalmer, and it will be one he never forgets. His work that night will force him to think about the little boy he was, and the losses he has worked so hard to forget. But compassion can have surprising consequences, because - as William discovers - giving so much to others can sometimes help us heal ourselves. 'Incredibly moving. Exquisitely crafted." BONNIE GARMUS, Lessons in Chemistry 'I LOVE IT! Utterly and completely brilliant.' JOANNA CANNON 'It's a long time since I've read a debut novel that moved me so much.' RACHEL JOYCE 'Extraordinary.' SOPHIE HANNAH 'A brave and tender novel.' JOANNA GLEN What readers are saying: 'One stunning read to remember.' 'Beautifully written . . . I would recommend this book to all.' 'Utterly heartbreaking and uplifting . . . I loved it.' 'Tremendous.'