A LAST GOODBYE

Kelsey and Kim’s latest brings author and illustrator together to spark conversations about an ineffable, arduous subject: death.

Scientifically sound and philosophically profound, Kelsey’s spare, graceful first-person text directly addresses a dying dearest while Kim’s visuals provide insights from fellow life-forms’ mourning rituals. Readers may watch through tears as elephants support the frail with tusk and trunk, whales lift their loved ones to the ocean’s surface for a final breath, and chimps lay the ailing down to groom their hair. Forthright, euphemism-free language refreshes: These animals are indeed dying, and it’s wise to acknowledge this fact. As life leaves the body, readers bear witness to howler monkeys crying out, hyenas sorrowfully cuddling, and gorillas silently tending to their beloved’s final moments. Suspended from fishing wire in wooden frames, Kim’s ink-and-watercolor illustrations are suffused with softest blacks and deepest blues, luxuriant greens and gentle magentas. Each diorama relies on illusions of depth to balance intricately detailed cutouts with stark backgrounds. Soon, mourners gather as a community. Orcas, elephants, and chimps assemble in a splendid spiral to pay respects while magpies and elephants place flowers and leaves as tokens of their affection. Eventually, melancholy melts into a sensitive celebration of the life cycle as bodies decompose and serve as staging grounds for new beginnings; “our lives plant a long line of love in this wild, thriving planet.”

Staggering.