Raw and beautifully told, this is the story of Juliet Darling's year of devastating grief after her partner was murdered by his schizophrenic son, as well as a story of the power of love. Nick died in the southern hemisphere in spring. Now I am in Paris in spring. We were to have been here together. I am experiencing a double spring. Double the bitterness, double the beauty. Juliet Darling's account of the daily events surrounding the murder of her late partner, art curator Nick Waterlow, by his son Anthony is a moving story of a deeply personal formative experience. It is a passionate and urgent look at the ordinariness of evil, the intractability of fate, and the interconnectedness of art and life. Ultimately it is a story about the power of love, and how love can be sustained through grief. It is also a book about what it was like to live in the shadow of an impending death, which seemed to be foretold. It is about a grief that began long before death. For all involved, it seemed they were powerless to do anything to change the sinister course of events. They were living in a senseless, dreamlike state; in a state of mind where they knew something but they didn't know it at the same time. The events unfold with utmost simplicity, stripped of any falsehood. The small banal events which matter the most form the greatest part of this tale of almost unbearable suffering. This is a story of powerlessness and grief, families and friendship, fear and trust, and anger and love.
