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Grief in the Van: An Adult Orphan, A Cat and a Tiny Home-On-Wheels
“…a love letter to the land, to adventure and to the healing power of solitude”.
Self-Publishing Review ★★★★
When a middle-aged unmarried woman experiences the death of her parents, she embarks on a journey in a motorhome – with her cat – through Australia’s changing landscape and the bewildering culture shock that is the grief experience. Learning to navigate the Van, the land and the grief, she discovers resilience and self-compassion. This travel memoir is a quietly joyful affirmation of life, offering hope for those experiencing adult parental loss.
“Author Victoria Clayton, a year after losing her parents, embarks on a painful drive-about to regain some semblance of herself in Grief in the Van: An Adult Orphan, A Cat and a Tiny Home-on-Wheels. In the spirit of Steinbeck, she takes readers on a journey of self-reflection, discovery and recovery. Throughout the narrative are raw accounts of personal grief in all its unpredictability and severity – authentically told and affecting. This deeply nostalgic and visceral memoir reveals a challenging path toward progress, and may provide comfort and guidance for anyone wrestling with this unifying human emotion.” Self-Publishing Review ★★★★
“In Grief in the Van, Victoria Clayton takes her readers on a journey through the trailer parks of Australia and the “raw grief” that wracked her after her parents died within a short time of one another. Accompanied by her cat Dougal, the author sets out to find a way to live on when the pain of her loss seems too much to bear. The parents Clayton has lost are very much alive in her heart and memory, and when describing them she does a fine job of capturing the little idiosyncrasies that endear our loved ones to us. Clayton is a lively, kinetic writer whose occasionally hurtling prose style is a good match for a road trip book.” BookLife Prize
“This book is a must-read for anyone who is grieving a close family member. It’s chock-full of useful insights on all of the mixed-up feelings and complexities of dread, withdrawal, shame, wariness, carelessness, distress, and anger–and the peculiar things we do because we can’t let go. I wish I had this book to read several years ago. Victoria’s memoir fills a gap on the subject of grief and by successfully writing on this challenging topic, she now has a beautiful record of her parents’ lives and leaves the reader feeling genuinely connected to her story”. Rachel Santino, Reedsy Discovery
Finalist, Self-Published Book Awards 2020
What readers are saying:
“Grief in the Van: An Adult Orphan, A Cat and a Tiny Home-On-Wheels is a delightful read. As the author roams about the countryside with her precious cat Dougal, she discovers the freedom of being able to re-live her memories and express her grief, ultimately enabling her to maneuver her way through the pain of loss, bringing deep healing and a readiness to embrace the future with great heart”. RL, Melbourne
“As a part-time ‘grey nomad’ and a widower I found this book extremely helpful in dealing with grief after losing a loved one. I could relate, and sometime laugh, to the trials and tribulations of being on the road full time. Dealing with grief is a personal thing and the author has done a marvellous job describing how she is dealing with grief. This book has definitely helped my journey”. GG, Bega, Australia
“Victoria has captured and recorded her feelings in words that draw in the reader to share her journey of life on the road (with a cat !!!) and the great loss she was experiencing at the time. The reader understood her grief and followed her journey of questioning and acceptance, mixed with day to day life in a van with a cat and the humorous side of it all. Have tissues handy!” RC, Newcastle, Australia
“Loved it! This book is a travel memoir and one woman's journey through grief–I enjoyed it so much, I didn't want it to end.” RS, California
Self-Publishing Review ★★★★
When a middle-aged unmarried woman experiences the death of her parents, she embarks on a journey in a motorhome – with her cat – through Australia’s changing landscape and the bewildering culture shock that is the grief experience. Learning to navigate the Van, the land and the grief, she discovers resilience and self-compassion. This travel memoir is a quietly joyful affirmation of life, offering hope for those experiencing adult parental loss.
“Author Victoria Clayton, a year after losing her parents, embarks on a painful drive-about to regain some semblance of herself in Grief in the Van: An Adult Orphan, A Cat and a Tiny Home-on-Wheels. In the spirit of Steinbeck, she takes readers on a journey of self-reflection, discovery and recovery. Throughout the narrative are raw accounts of personal grief in all its unpredictability and severity – authentically told and affecting. This deeply nostalgic and visceral memoir reveals a challenging path toward progress, and may provide comfort and guidance for anyone wrestling with this unifying human emotion.” Self-Publishing Review ★★★★
“In Grief in the Van, Victoria Clayton takes her readers on a journey through the trailer parks of Australia and the “raw grief” that wracked her after her parents died within a short time of one another. Accompanied by her cat Dougal, the author sets out to find a way to live on when the pain of her loss seems too much to bear. The parents Clayton has lost are very much alive in her heart and memory, and when describing them she does a fine job of capturing the little idiosyncrasies that endear our loved ones to us. Clayton is a lively, kinetic writer whose occasionally hurtling prose style is a good match for a road trip book.” BookLife Prize
“This book is a must-read for anyone who is grieving a close family member. It’s chock-full of useful insights on all of the mixed-up feelings and complexities of dread, withdrawal, shame, wariness, carelessness, distress, and anger–and the peculiar things we do because we can’t let go. I wish I had this book to read several years ago. Victoria’s memoir fills a gap on the subject of grief and by successfully writing on this challenging topic, she now has a beautiful record of her parents’ lives and leaves the reader feeling genuinely connected to her story”. Rachel Santino, Reedsy Discovery
Finalist, Self-Published Book Awards 2020
What readers are saying:
“Grief in the Van: An Adult Orphan, A Cat and a Tiny Home-On-Wheels is a delightful read. As the author roams about the countryside with her precious cat Dougal, she discovers the freedom of being able to re-live her memories and express her grief, ultimately enabling her to maneuver her way through the pain of loss, bringing deep healing and a readiness to embrace the future with great heart”. RL, Melbourne
“As a part-time ‘grey nomad’ and a widower I found this book extremely helpful in dealing with grief after losing a loved one. I could relate, and sometime laugh, to the trials and tribulations of being on the road full time. Dealing with grief is a personal thing and the author has done a marvellous job describing how she is dealing with grief. This book has definitely helped my journey”. GG, Bega, Australia
“Victoria has captured and recorded her feelings in words that draw in the reader to share her journey of life on the road (with a cat !!!) and the great loss she was experiencing at the time. The reader understood her grief and followed her journey of questioning and acceptance, mixed with day to day life in a van with a cat and the humorous side of it all. Have tissues handy!” RC, Newcastle, Australia
“Loved it! This book is a travel memoir and one woman's journey through grief–I enjoyed it so much, I didn't want it to end.” RS, California
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Published November 18, 2020
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About the author
Victoria Clayton
3 booksI was born in the UK of a Scottish mother and an Australian father and grew up in Melbourne. I have been a field archaeologist, excavating in Syria, Turkey, Jordan and Australia and an English teacher in Melbourne and China, among a ridiculous number of other occupations. I love travel, reading, museums, libraries and things found in holes in the ground, particularly ancient figurines. I never thought I would, but I also know a bit about dementia, loss and grief and being an adult orphan. Now I live in a motorhome somewhere in Australia with Dougal, the cat, and I write about all of it.
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November 10, 2025
Bravo to Victoria for writing and publishing this touching memoir about her family and her loss. My knowledge of Australia is from some tv shows, movies and from watching The Block religiously (doesn't seem like exactly the right word?) for around 10 years now - enjoying lazy Sunday mornings (in Canada) with coffee, a baked good and the weekly judging episode that had aired on Sunday night in Australia. Even with this slight immersion, some of the Aussie terms still went over my head. I enjoyed the descriptions of all the towns and the drives in between and admired her resolve to forge a new life after her parents died.
I found this story while searching for books and stories on grief after my own mother died and the loss hit me hard, especially having no relatives around and a tenuous relationship with my surviving. Any type of grief separates you from others but when losing parents there is also that experience of losing the familial/familiar. The term adult orphan resonated with my experience - I may have used it to search for books and this could have been how I found this book.
Victoria writes with honesty about raw grief and the difficulties with depression that come with it. She also shares the struggles of being a creative - all the emotions regarding being productive vs losing motivation and then the worry, self-blame and despair, wondering if it's worth it at all.
But she succeeded, she pulled through and she shares some of her insights along the way. It was helpful to be able to join her on her journey.
I found this story while searching for books and stories on grief after my own mother died and the loss hit me hard, especially having no relatives around and a tenuous relationship with my surviving. Any type of grief separates you from others but when losing parents there is also that experience of losing the familial/familiar. The term adult orphan resonated with my experience - I may have used it to search for books and this could have been how I found this book.
Victoria writes with honesty about raw grief and the difficulties with depression that come with it. She also shares the struggles of being a creative - all the emotions regarding being productive vs losing motivation and then the worry, self-blame and despair, wondering if it's worth it at all.
But she succeeded, she pulled through and she shares some of her insights along the way. It was helpful to be able to join her on her journey.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 of 1 review