Ernest Dempsey’s second collection of short stories The Blue Fairy takes a subject that has been dreaded for centuries – ‘Death’. It is one of the few works of fiction, which neither treats the subject as the ‘D word’ by bringing in fantasies of afterlife nor compromises the solemnity by trying to evaporate the reality of death in humor. Instead, Dempsey explores the many sides to the subject that make the final departure a meaningful reality of existence. Inspired mostly by real life experiences, Dempsey’s The Blue Fairy ingeniously integrates dying with living. It is a book for the soul.