The Clearing: a Memoir of Art, Family and Mental Health
SAMANTHA CLARK
(LITTLE, BROWN, 208 PP, £14.99)
Tablet bookshop price £13.49 • Tel 020 7799 4064

“Grief”, suggests 52-year-old visual artist Samantha Clark, “is an expression of love.” It’s a comforting thought, delicately distilled from her personal account of the loss of her parents; but her story is far from a comfortable read. I had to take frequent breaks to prevent her feelings from overwhelming me.

The theme of self-preservation runs through Clark’s metaphorical clearing out of the memories and conflicting emotions surrounding her relationship with her parents. The task of physically sorting through the domestic debris left by them provides the backdrop.