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Two Floors Above Grief is more than a memoir—it is an invitation into a world few readers have ever experienced: a family living above a midwestern funeral home. In this captivating and heartfelt story, Kevin O’Connor blends humor, tenderness, and unflinching honesty to reveal what it was like to grow up surrounded by both everyday family life and the constant presence of death.
Through a treasure trove of family letters, photographs, and memories, O’Connor reconstructs the voices of parents, grandparents, and siblings whose resilience, faith, and wit carried them through decades of change. From the 1930s to the 1980s, the correspondence captures not just the business of funerals but also the business of living—birthday parties, romances, Sunday dinners, and everyday joys that unfolded just steps away from grieving families downstairs.
What makes Two Floors Above Grief so compelling is its universal message: grief and joy are never far apart. With each letter and memory, O’Connor shows how his family navigated loss with dignity, humor, and love, teaching lessons about resilience that resonate today. Readers will laugh at the quirks of a household where embalming fluid was as familiar as morning coffee, and they will be moved by the tender ways a family sustained itself amidst sorrow.
Part history, part coming-of-age tale, and part celebration of family, this book speaks to anyone who has faced loss, searched for meaning in memory, or wondered how love continues even after death.
If you are looking for a memoir that combines nostalgia, wit, and the profound reminder that life’s deepest griefs can coexist with its brightest joys, Two Floors Above Grief is a must-read.