#SoloStories: “How To Die Alone”

SoloStories is our feature in which we explore books, films and TV shows that show single women navigating their lives – but romance is not the main component.

In the Hulu series “How To Die Alone,” Melissa Jackson died for three minutes while assembling furniture.

It helps her come alive.

Mel (played by Natasha Rothwell, who created the series and wrote some of the episodes) is a 40-something New Yorker who drives the cart at JFK Airport. She watches passengers come and go from their trips, but she has never flown before.

She has few friends, and her job is taking her nowhere. As a fellow patient tells her, there are three kinds of death – “physical, when people stop caring about you, and the worst kind is when you stop caring for yourself.”

When her ex-boyfriend invites her to his destination wedding in Hawaii, she sees it as opportunity to fly – both literally and metaphorically.

She admits she was “comfortable being small” and she didn’t take risks. So she applies for a management program and takes a flight simulation. “You’re shaking things up like a handful of sunflower seeds,” a pal tells her.

Mel has a lot in common with Sam from “Somebody Somewhere,” and you want to root for her. But Mel also makes some choices that can be frustrating and painful to watch. The episodes become easier as Mel begins to see the rewards of her hard work.

The ending is sweet – until it ends with a shocking twist that demands a second season.

Rothwell, who also appeared in “The White Lotus” and “Insecure,” was inspired to write the series after her own near-death experience. This is a show that reveals hard truths about life, but it also shows that taking risks can bring some great pleasures.