sv podcast – put down in an another place

It’s February and Lent is almost upon us …. We have a brief Lenty chat where Holly & Darren share what they might be doing, or not doing, for the season. (And what about you, dear listener? Are you giving Lent up for Lent? What are your practices? Let us know.)

And in the dark days of winter, what better than to talk about than …. death! But bear with us, we have a book review of the extremely well-received book by author Sarah Perry, about the illness and death of her father-in-law, David. The book covers a very short period of time, after a very late diagnosis of oesophageal cancer, during which time Perry and her husband move into David’s home to look after him. It was an experience so intense that Sarah Perry felt like she had been “picked up and put down in another place”.

Death of an Ordinary Man, was published in October last year to great praise and it won the 2026 Nero Non-Fiction Award, announced just last month. The paperback is due out very soon, so Holly & Darren are very happy to provide their review in advance of that.

As ever, we’d love to hear from you and to know what you thought about the issues raised in the podcast. You can comment here on this website or contact us on Facebook or go to our Substack and chat with us there.

Links
Death of an Ordinary Man by Sarah Perry (Penguin Books)
Lectio 365

This podcast was recorded on Thursday 5 February 2026. Available from Apple Podcasts, TuneIn Radio, and via your favourite podcast App. Theme music and stings by Nicolai Heidlas. Duration:  51’06 minutes.

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