The Life, Old Age, and Death of a Working-Class Woman

A frank and moving story … an urgent plea for the elderly to be treated with more respect – Helen Brown * Telegraph *Searingly honest … I found it compelling, hard to read and hard to put down – Norma Clarke * Literary Review *He recounts his mother’s life and death both as a son and as a sociologist … a genre that’s particularly suited to our age, with its growing understanding of how social class shapes life-paths – Simon Kuper * Financial Times *Uniquely moving… the breadth of cultural references… is stunning, and the readings of them are nuanced… His diagnosis of how old age, to nobody’s benefit, is neglected in public discourse is spot on, especially in view of the decades-old debate about a sustainable British social care model – Franklin Nelson * Spectator *Eribon’s is a book laden with melancholy, but one that stresses the importance not just of solidarity and political struggle but also the fundamental social dimension of existence, and what we lose when we are cut off from others – Bartolomeo Sala * Jacobin *Praise for Returning to Reims – - * : *A deeply intelligent and searching book, one that makes you re-consider the narrative of your own life and reframe the story you tell yourself… Didier Eribon understands how deep the roots of inequality go – Hilary MantelEribon offers up a magnificent example of an enlightened life liberated by theory, written in a style that deftly moves between the intimate, the social and the political – Annie ErnauxReturning to Reims played a capital role in my life… I was overwhelmed by this book. I felt I was reading the story of my life – Edouard Louis

Didier Eribon is Professor of Sociology at the University of Amiens. His books include the bestselling Returning to Reims, the biography Michael Foucault, Insult and the Making of the Gay Self, and numerous other books of critical theory.