by Gloria Hutchinson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 19, 2014
A courageous addition to literature on suicide.
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A mother’s reflections on the loss of her son.
In her latest work of nonfiction, Hutchinson (Glimmers of God Everywhere, 2012, etc.) lays bare her experience of her son David’s suicide at the age of 48. Part tribute to David, part memoir and part self-help guide, Hutchinson’s writing confronts the many facets of suicide and its effects on those left behind. The first half of the book is almost journalistic in tone, as Hutchinson recounts the details of her son’s death and compiles an extensive collection of interviews with those who knew and loved him. Supplemented by archival photographs, these early chapters read like an extended obituary; though a moving memorial, their relevance seems largely limited to those who knew David himself. In the second half of the book, however, Hutchinson uses David’s story as a window in to the implications of suicide more generally; these later sections are the book’s strongest. Through exposing her own volatile and conflicting reactions to David’s death, the author pieces together a complex perspective of suicide that will comfort those who have been in her shoes and enlighten those who have not. One chapter is devoted to expressing her love for David; another to telling him how angry she is; another to confronting the Catholic teaching that people who commit suicide cannot enter heaven. Hutchinson’s writing, which feels emotionally restrained in the book’s earlier chapters, becomes more vibrant here, as she relates “anecdotes that shine in the dark halls of memory like vigil lights at midnight.” What’s more, her commitment to uncovering every aspect of David’s story serves as a potent antidote to the stigma that so often surrounds discussions of suicide. The author includes confessions from others about the suicides that touched their lives, as well as extensive appendices about both how to prevent suicide and how to heal from its aftermath. “When empathy replaces judgment,” Hutchinson writes, “suicide will be ‘unshamed,’ ” and her own candid disclosures form an inspiring call to that compassionate perspective.
A courageous addition to literature on suicide.Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2014
ISBN: 978-1496170767
Page Count: 140
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Jancee Dunn ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2017
A highly readable account of how solid research and personal testing of self-help techniques saved a couple's marriage after...
Self-help advice and personal reflections on avoiding spousal fights while raising children.
Before her daughter was born, bestselling author Dunn (Why Is My Mother Getting a Tattoo?: And Other Questions I Wish I Never Had to Ask, 2009, etc.) enjoyed steady work and a happy marriage. However, once she became a mother, there never seemed to be enough time, sleep, and especially help from her husband. Little irritations became monumental obstacles between them, which led to major battles. Consequently, they turned to expensive couples' therapy to help them regain some peace in life. In a combination of memoir and advice that can be found in most couples' therapy self-help books, Dunn provides an inside look at her own vexing issues and the solutions she and her husband used to prevent them from appearing in divorce court. They struggled with age-old battles fought between men and women—e.g., frequency of sex, who does more housework, who should get up with the child in the middle of the night, why women need to have a clean house, why men need more alone time, and many more. What Dunn learned via therapy, talks with other parents, and research was that there is no perfect solution to the many dynamics that surface once couples become parents. But by using time-tested techniques, she and her husband learned to listen, show empathy, and adjust so that their former status as a happy couple could safely and peacefully morph into a happy family. Readers familiar with Dunn's honest and humorous writing will appreciate the behind-the-scenes look at her own semi-messy family life, and those who need guidance through the rough spots can glean advice while being entertained—all without spending lots of money on couples’ therapy.
A highly readable account of how solid research and personal testing of self-help techniques saved a couple's marriage after the birth of their child.Pub Date: March 21, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-26710-6
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
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by Tim O’Brien ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 14, 2019
A miscellany of paternal pride (and frustration) darkened by the author’s increasing realizations of his mortality.
Ruminations and reminiscences of an author—now in his 70s—about fatherhood, writing, and death.
O’Brien (July, July, 2002, etc.), who achieved considerable literary fame with both Going After Cacciato (1978) and The Things They Carried (1990), returns with an eclectic assembly of pieces that grow increasingly valedictory as the idea of mortality creeps in. (The title comes from the author’s uncertainty about his ability to assemble these pieces in a single volume.) He begins and ends with a letter: The initial one is to his first son (from 2003); the terminal one, to his two sons, both of whom are now teens (the present). Throughout the book, there are a number of recurring sections: “Home School” (lessons for his sons to accomplish), “The Magic Show” (about his long interest in magic), and “Pride” (about his feelings for his sons’ accomplishments). O’Brien also writes often about his own father. One literary figure emerges as almost a member of the family: Ernest Hemingway. The author loves Hemingway’s work (except when he doesn’t) and often gives his sons some of Papa’s most celebrated stories to read and think and write about. Near the end is a kind of stand-alone essay about Hemingway’s writings about war and death, which O’Brien realizes is Hemingway’s real subject. Other celebrated literary figures pop up in the text, including Elizabeth Bishop, Andrew Marvell, George Orwell, and Flannery O’Connor. Although O’Brien’s strong anti-war feelings are prominent throughout, his principal interest is fatherhood—specifically, at becoming a father later in his life and realizing that he will miss so much of his sons’ lives. He includes touching and amusing stories about his toddler sons, about the sadness he felt when his older son became a teen and began to distance himself, and about his anguish when his sons failed at something.
A miscellany of paternal pride (and frustration) darkened by the author’s increasing realizations of his mortality.Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-618-03970-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
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