SIREN, ON REPEAT

After her best friend’s tragic demise, a young woman weathers grief on her way to a new celebration of life in this debut memoir.

Kimball opens the work with a recollection of how she was rattled at the age of 10 when her parents announced a move to another part of Peterborough, Ontario. Once they arrived at their new home on Princess Street and the author settled in at King Edward Public School, she met Aprile McIntosh, who welcomed her and became her best friend. The two quickly bonded, and in high school, they shared experiences common to teenagers in the 1980s—sleepovers, mall shopping, dance clubs, and parties. The author relates how much she loved this life until tragedy struck on Feb. 1, 1988, when Aprile died suddenly of complications related to a heart condition. For the first time, the author was forced to comprehend the shock, sadness, and guilt that come with a loved one’s death. In this moving memoir, Kimball effectively employs dramatic tension and unique details to show how she and Aprile built a foundation for their friendship, which effectively gets across the profound impact of the sudden loss. After outlining various aspects of grief, the book transitions to describing how the author moved forward with her own life, and she revealingly shares coping strategies that she learned and myriad experiences that taught her resilience—and ultimately, how to pay tribute to a loved one while also seeing good parts of the human experience. There are moments when the book feels didactic, and some anecdotes feel a bit imprecise. However, the book will appeal to grieving readers who need a glimmer of hope—a reminder that, like the author, they will eventually move on.

A deeply authentic and wise reflection on grief and recovery.