Painful Kindness

After a painful encounter with death, can a young man find the strength to return to life?

It is October 1966. William Lavery has successfully completed his studies, becoming the youngest embalmer in the country, and is celebrating his achievements at a formal banquet. He has no idea, however, that later the same evening he will put his newfound skills into practice – embalmers from all over Britain are converging on the Welsh town of Aberfan, where a massive landslide has buried a school, killing over a hundred children.

What William experiences during that long, cold night will change him forever. It will force him to remember his boyhood years, a time when, instead of a career as an embalmer, he yearned with all his heart to dedicate his life to music. And it will also remind him of the moment that irrevocably destroyed this dream, but which also led him here, to Aberfan. To a place that will show him the value of helping others, but also the power of kindness.

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Against the backdrop of the Aberfan tragedy, the character of William Lavery feels incredibly real. Moreover, the story explores themes that are just as important today: the power of community, empathy, and selflessness in the face of loss and trauma.
— Jess Kidd, author

Jo Browning Wroe’s delicate and elegant debut will break your heart into pieces and then gently put it back together again – just as the compassion and love of others carefully heal our wounds.
— Psychologies

This story, exploring intimacy and closeness, love and loss, trauma and recovery, is told with sensitivity and respect.
— Nation.Cymru