My Brother’s Ashes Are in a Sandwich Bag
Title: My Brother’s Ashes Are in a Sandwich Bag
Author: Michelle Brasier
Publisher: Ultimo Press
Shortlist: John Clarke Prize for Humour Writing
Your future is not guaranteed. And isn’t that fucking freeing? If you found out you had less time to live than the average bear, how might you spend it?
That’s a question comedian Michelle Brasier has been asking herself since her dad died of cancer, then her brother, and she was told there’s a high chance she’ll get it too. She’s only young (oh my god so young, and such great skin) but she has been through a lot and it’s taught her to live each day like it’s her last – because it just might be.
From teenage fumblings in the back of a car in Wagga Wagga (teen pregnancy capital of Australia), to performing with Aunty Donna and her own sell-out comedy shows, Michelle invites you into the highs (seeing Jason Momoa drinking a Guinness next to a classic car in SoHo) and the lows (getting dumped three quarters of the way through Pirates of the Caribbean).
It’s an examination of the tiny things and the big things – how much it hurts to be a woman and a person, and how funny it is to try and get into shapewear and how funerals are silly. It’s self-help for those of us who hate self-help. A bit of a laugh and a bit of a cry. Balance. Yoga in the morning, whisky in the evening.
Judges’ report
It’s not easy to write about death and grieving, and it’s even harder to write about death and grieving in an absolutely hilarious way, but this book does, and that’s an achievement on its own. In My Brother’s Ashes are in a Sandwich Bag, comedian Michelle Brasier explores the heartbreaking story of her brother’s and father’s death from cancer and faces her own elevated chances of being diagnosed with the same disease. The genius in this book is not only her adept method of writing about these experiences with both wisdom and irreverence, but also packing it full of laugh-out-loud moments.
About the Author
Michelle Brasier
VPLA book photography by Sarah Walker
The 2025 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards are proudly supported by the Victorian Government through the Community Support Fund and Creative Victoria.