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Dianne Yarwood’s debut novel The Wakes takes several subjects that should make for sombre reading and turns them into something warm, funny and reassuring. Death is never far from the story, but this isn't a novel preoccupied with dying. It's actually interested in the people left behind and the choices they make once loss has forced them to reconsider how they're living.

Rose Talisman was once a celebrated television therapist in Los Angeles. Her programme made her famous for helping other people confront their pain, until an incident destroyed her career and turned her into the subject of the kind of public scrutiny she once directed towards others.