A joyful, moving, compulsively readable story about finding true love, loss—and the unexpected surprises life (and the afterlife) can throw our way.
Stockbridge, MA (May 8, 2025) — Internationally bestselling author, comedian and award-winning audiobook narrator Alison Larkin follows her hit solo show Grief… A Comedy with a radiant new book of the same name, now available for review and pre-order ahead of its June 3 release.
The book is available to pre-order Amazon NOW by following this link. The audiobook can be purchased NOW, directly from alisonlarkin.com.
Critics called the show “outstandingly uplifting – leaves you believing joy really can be found after grief” (Daily Mail),
“a gorgeous love story” (Fest Magazine), and “a story that could truly change your life” (Entertainment Now).
Now, the follow-up book tells the story of what happened next, offering readers a powerful reminder that light and hope can be found in even the darkest of times—and that finding true love later in life, after marriage and divorce, is not only possible, but transformational.
Grief… A Comedy begins six weeks after the sudden death of Larkin’s fiancé Bhima—when he shows up at her kitchen table, in Stockbridge, as charming as ever, determined to help her find love again.
What follows is a love story set in the Berkshires that is laugh-out-loud funny, spiritually resonant, and filled with hope. It’s imaginary of course. Or is it?
Told with Larkin’s signature wit and heart, the book is already being praised as “warm, funny, and life-enhancing” (Trevor Dolby, Publisher and Author).
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who knew Alison and her work, urged her to share this story, saying it would “bring hope to a world that badly needs it.”
The earliest incarnation of the show, (then called Grief, the Musical) was performed in front of a paying audience at the Great Barrington Public Theater in 2022, directed by Alison’s close friend James Warwick. Larkin then re-wrote the script and previewed the new version of Grief… A Comedy in June 2024 to sold-out houses at Barrington Stage, making Advance Copies of her book available to audience members only. The official World Premiere of Grief… A Comedy took place at the Edinburgh Fringe, produced by the Soho Theatre followed by a London run in August 2024. The show received high critical acclaim.
As a result of features in The Times (London), The Daily Mail, and an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Alison’s story has been heard by over 25 million people in the UK. But not everyone can make it to the theatre, and not everyone lives in England. So, on June 3rd, Grief… A Comedy will be released worldwide. In book form.
Grief… A Comedy is available for pre-order now and will be released in paperback, audiobook (narrated by Larkin herself), and digital formats on June 3.
Larkin’s Grief… A Comedy book launch will take place at the Unicorn Theatre on Sunday June 8th as a special fundraiser for the Stockbridge Library. For more information about that email info@stockbridgelibrary.org.
Larkin is clear about her love for the Berkshires: “First I fell in love with Bhima. Then he died. Then I fell in love with the loving, supportive Berkshire community that helped me bring this story into the world.”
When asked why she has devoted the last three years to telling this story, she said, “My friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote to me saying ‘your story needs the widest circulation possible because it will bring hope to people who might otherwise condemn themselves to despair,” continued Alison.
“He said, ‘You must do whatever you have to do to make sure this story is told to as many people as possible’ And you can’t say no to Archbishop Desmond Tutu. So, I created a solo comedy show, Grief… A Comedy, with music by Emmy award winner Gary Schreiner, and followed it up with this book, that explored our whirlwind romance from the Berkshires to Bennington and beyond.
In the book, Alison takes great delight in exploring the relationship that continues with our loved ones after they die: “People told me that when someone you love deeply dies, you can sense them with you at first. But after a while the connection goes away and they don’t feel nearby anymore. Not so in our case, it seems. “
About The Book:
After marriage, divorce and raising two children, Alison, now in her 50’s and living in Stockbridge MA, had avoided love all her life, and was ‘kind of’ at peace with the idea that love was something that had passed her by. Then, unexpectedly, she found true love with Bhima, also in his 50’s, who had also moved to America thirty years earlier. They met at the Red Lion Inn and a heady butterflies-in-stomach followed. Five days after they decided to marry, Bhima suddenly died. Then something even more unexpected happened. Instead of wanting to hide under the bed and never come out, Alison found herself wanting to live – and love – more fully than ever. Alison’s new book begins where the show left off, six weeks after Bhima died, when he showed up at Alison’s kitchen table in Stockbridge, determined to help her find love again. It’s imaginary of course. Or is it?
About Alison Larkin
Alison Larkin — writer, comedian, speaker, actress, producer — is the award-winning narrator of more than 250 audiobooks, including The Complete Novels of Jane Austen and Agatha Christie’s The Man in the Brown Suit. She is also the bestselling author of The English American, an autobiographical novel about an adopted English woman who finds her birth mother and love in the United States. As an actress she has appeared both on and off Broadway. Her voice can be heard in countless movies, games and cartoons, from work by the Coen brothers to Grand Theft Auto 5, to The Wonderpets. Alison lives, writes, produces and records from her home in the Berkshires, Massachusetts.
About Alison Larkin Presents
Alison founded her audiobook company in 2016 and has produced 110 audiobooks to date, winning 16 AudioFile earphones awards for excellence. Her production of The Complete Novels of Jane Austen, read by Alison, is followed by bonus material and interviews and is the #1 bestselling Austen audiobook in the world. In keeping with her mission to produce easy-to-listen-to classics as well as many other audiobooks, she has brought in some of the best actors in the Berkshires to narrate, including Tina Packer (Tina Talks), James Warwick (Agatha Christie and Oscar Wilde) Allyn Burrows (The Great Gatsby), Anne Undeland (Little Women) and Jonathan Epstein, whose critically acclaimed narration of Moby Dick was an Audie-award finalist. For more information on Alison, visit alisonlarkinpresents.com.
