Simone de Beauvoir's encounters with death are explored in Elaine Marks's book: Simone de Beauvoir: Encounters with Death, which examines how Beauvoir's obsession with mortality is transformed into the social and political critiques found in her work, such as the death of God and collective action.

Beauvoir's writings, including her memoirs, frequently deal with real and symbolic death, from family members to the collective experiences of the French occupation, highlighting mortality as a central theme in her philosophy and a catalyst for authentic living. Death is not just a personal experience for Beauvoir but a subject that fuels her philosophical and literary work, representing the human condition and the inevitability of facticity.

The death of her mother and her childhood friend, Zaza, were significant personal experiences that deeply impacted Beauvoir and became recurring themes in her autobiography and other writings.

Beauvoir also confronted death on a societal level, particularly during the occupation of France, which she viewed as a form of collective death.

For Beauvoir, confronting the certainty of death is essential for living an authentic and free life, an idea central to existentialist thought. Denying one's mortality is an act of "bad faith" that degrades one's freedom.

Beauvoir's personal pain over mortality was often transformed into more general reflections on society and politics, leading to apologies for collective action and condemnation of the bourgeoisie.

The book positions Beauvoir as a crucial figure of 20th-century thought, engaging with the modern sensibility's preoccupation with death, the absurdity of existence, and the drive for commitment.