Now that popular household advice columnist Delia Bennet is dying from cancer, she's compiled the ultimate to-do list: plan her daughter's future wedding, fill the freezer with her family's favorite meals- perhaps even do some matchmaking for her husband. But just as Delia comes to terms with the impossibility of ever tying every loose thread together in her too-short time, an unexpected visitor helps her believe in her life's worth in a way no list ever could... "With "The Household Guide to Dying," Debra Adelaide serves up a tantalizing literary souffle - a beautiful blending of lightness and substance that centers around Delia, as quirky, funny, feisty and brave a character as any in contemporary fiction. I think you'll love this life-affirming novel. I did." -Wally Lamb, author of "The Hour I First Believed" "I found this novel entrancing. "The Household Guide to Dying" is a joyous book that resonates deep inside long after you finish. Delia's magical, crystalline voice made me fervently wish that she was real and that I knew her." -Patricia Wood, author of "LOTTERY" "What an uplifting novel. Itas gorgeously written, while also being absolutely page-turning and breathtakingly tender. I adored the character of Delia and was riveted to her story from beginning to lovely and surprising end." -Cecelia Ahern, author of "PS, I Love You" and "There's No Place Like Here" Debra Adelaide has worked as an editor, book reviewer, and researcher, and she is now a senior lecturer in creative writing at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. This is her first book to be published in the United States. Table of Contents   Title Page Copyright Page Dedication   Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61   Acknowledgements Sources and References About the Author PUTNAM G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS Publishers Since 1838 Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA • Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) • Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) • Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi-110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa   Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England   Originally published in Australia by Pan Macmillan Australia 2008 First published in the United States by G. P. Putnam’s Sons 2009   Copyright © 2008 by Debra Adelaide All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.   Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data   Adelaide, Debra. The household guide to dying / Debra Adelaide. p. cm. eISBN : 978-1-101-02921-3 1. Terminally ill—Fiction. 2. Self-realization—Fiction. 3. Advice columnists—Fiction. I. Title. PR9619.3.A42H 823’.914—dc22       This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.   While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. Dedicated with love to the memory of Adam Wilton and Alison McCallum 1 The first thing I did this morning was visit the chickens. Archie had already given them the kitchen scraps