"My name is Chanett Dichmann Karlsen. I was born in 1975 in Randers and have a Master's degree in English and Religious Studies.

My book, Dage med Job, is a genre hybrid, a portrayal of grief based on my own losses: my father's death when I was four years old, my mother's death when I was 17, and my younger brother's suicide (stemming from that), while I was undergoing treatment for breast cancer. The texts also reflect the grief of my daughters and my brother's sons, and the book is largely written for them but hopefully can serve as a mirror for many others.

The title was chosen to encapsulate feelings of guilt and shame, often overlooked elements in grief. It's the feeling of being 'cursed' and guilty for perpetuating sorrow and trauma onto others, as my brother's and my early orphanhood paradoxically passed on to his children as fatherless. It's my experience of being left in the 'ditch' without witnesses from a significant part of my life.

The texts in the book have been created over nearly five years. It is my sincere hope that they can initiate conversations about taboos such as death, suicide, illness, and grief, as these topics are represented through collective and archetypal images. Grief is simultaneously a universal and deeply individual and private state. I have tried to give voice to both the children we were and the adults we became, but within the subjective narrative lies grief as something universal and an existential condition.

The importance of conversation and relationships is a recurring theme in the texts. They are personal and tear-filled, but the purpose of sharing them is the desire to borrow words for grief in general, in order to create dialogue and understanding.

The target audience of the book includes professionals (such as clergy, educators, teachers, psychologists, healthcare personnel, etc.) as well as individuals experiencing grief and their loved ones. It may also be relevant for grief support groups, community events, support organizations for the mentally vulnerable, and hopefully others. While grief is a fundamental condition and a cultural phenomenon, it can also be potentially lonely. There is a need for conversation and simply feeling that someone can be present with the pain."

If interested in buying the book, you can contact Chanett on her e-mail: chanettkarlsen@gmail.com.