THE title of the book itself is based on a line from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment: “The darker the night, the brighter the stars. The deeper the grief, the closer is God!”
Broks is a neuropsychologist who wrote this memoir after losing his wife who endured a long battle with cancer. She had chosen palliative end-of-life care over chemotherapy. This decision has him questioning everything.
The book is a collection of the author’s memories and dreams, as well as science, philosophy, rambling thoughts, things he recalls and some sketches.
Not the easiest of reads and it takes some patience.
Despite the fact that the book seems all over the place at times, it is about a scientist trying to grasp his pain, and in its own way, might help others coping with grief to find some form of comfort.
