Insightful and moving conversations about suicide and grief.
Four men who lost parents to suicide strengthen their bonds of friendship in this memoir.
In this candid look at suicide—which, according to the Centers for Disease Control, is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States—debut author Knapp and Pincus (Reel Baseball, 2003) focus on the emotional aftermath for those who are left behind. In 1966, the authors met during their senior year in a Maryland high school and, much to their surprise, soon found out their lives shared a striking similarity—their mothers had both killed themselves a few years earlier. Over time, the two young men began to have heart-to-heart conversations about their grief. As the years progressed, they discovered they had two other friends, Tom and Dennis, affected by the suicide of a parent. Sometimes deep and sometimes chatty, this heartfelt memoir begins with conversations between Knapp and Pincus. Later, the work includes email exchanges involving all four friends. Bouncing between different time periods and settings—high school in 1966, a bench beside a Cleveland Jewish synagogue in the mid-’90s, a baseball road trip in 1999, a popular Chicago restaurant in 2009—the book realistically portrays these four baby boomers and self-described “sons of suicide” as they grappled with difficult questions, such as whether or not forgiveness for the act is truly possible. Pincus wondered whether his mother thought about him moments before she killed herself. Though the topic is dark, the tone is upbeat—with some joking between old friends—as the men discuss how fortunate they are to currently have wonderful families and friendships. The authors’ language is sometimes memorably expressive. For example, when recalling his mother’s death, Knapp notes: “Some images are etched deep in the mind with acid so caustic that they are always there, deeply imbedded yet near the surface at the same time.” Seeking answers but not pretending to have them, this cleareyed account—a potential comfort to others who have suffered similar losses—can also help educate the public about suicide prevention.
Insightful and moving conversations about suicide and grief.Pub Date: April 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-73382-870-3
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Bowker
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A superb book about doing his job by a master of his craft.
The renowned writer offers advice on information-gathering and nonfiction composition.
The book consists of eight instructive and charming essays about creating narratives, all of them originally composed for the New Yorker, where McPhee (Silk Parachute, 2010, etc.) has been a contributor since the mid-1960s. Reading them consecutively in one volume constitutes a master class in writing, as the author clearly demonstrates why he has taught so successfully part-time for decades at Princeton University. In one of the essays, McPhee focuses on the personalities and skills of editors and publishers for whom he has worked, and his descriptions of those men and women are insightful and delightful. The main personality throughout the collection, though, is McPhee himself. He is frequently self-deprecating, occasionally openly proud of his accomplishments, and never boring. In his magazine articles and the books resulting from them, McPhee rarely injects himself except superficially. Within these essays, he offers a departure by revealing quite a bit about his journalism, his teaching life, and daughters, two of whom write professionally. Throughout the collection, there emerge passages of sly, subtle humor, a quality often absent in McPhee’s lengthy magazine pieces. Since some subjects are so weighty—especially those dealing with geology—the writing can seem dry. There is no dry prose here, however. Almost every sentence sparkles, with wordplay evident throughout. Another bonus is the detailed explanation of how McPhee decided to tackle certain topics and then how he chose to structure the resulting pieces. Readers already familiar with the author’s masterpieces—e.g., Levels of the Game, Encounters with the Archdruid, Looking for a Ship, Uncommon Carriers, Oranges, and Coming into the Country—will feel especially fulfilled by McPhee’s discussions of the specifics from his many books.
A superb book about doing his job by a master of his craft.Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-374-14274-2
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 8, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
Naughty good fun from an impossibly sardonic rogue, quickly rising to Twainian stature.
The undisputed champion of the self-conscious and the self-deprecating returns with yet more autobiographical gems from his apparently inexhaustible cache (Naked, 1997, etc.).
Sedaris at first mines what may be the most idiosyncratic, if innocuous, childhood since the McCourt clan. Here is father Lou, who’s propositioned, via phone, by married family friend Mrs. Midland (“Oh, Lou. It just feels so good to . . . talk to someone who really . . . understands”). Only years later is it divulged that “Mrs. Midland” was impersonated by Lou’s 12-year-old daughter Amy. (Lou, to the prankster’s relief, always politely declined Mrs. Midland’s overtures.) Meanwhile, Mrs. Sedaris—soon after she’s put a beloved sick cat to sleep—is terrorized by bogus reports of a “miraculous new cure for feline leukemia,” all orchestrated by her bitter children. Brilliant evildoing in this family is not unique to the author. Sedaris (also an essayist on National Public Radio) approaches comic preeminence as he details his futile attempts, as an adult, to learn the French language. Having moved to Paris, he enrolls in French class and struggles endlessly with the logic in assigning inanimate objects a gender (“Why refer to Lady Flesh Wound or Good Sir Dishrag when these things could never live up to all that their sex implied?”). After months of this, Sedaris finds that the first French-spoken sentiment he’s fully understood has been directed to him by his sadistic teacher: “Every day spent with you is like having a cesarean section.” Among these misadventures, Sedaris catalogs his many bugaboos: the cigarette ban in New York restaurants (“I’m always searching the menu in hope that some courageous young chef has finally recognized tobacco as a vegetable”); the appending of company Web addresses to television commercials (“Who really wants to know more about Procter & Gamble?”); and a scatological dilemma that would likely remain taboo in most households.
Naughty good fun from an impossibly sardonic rogue, quickly rising to Twainian stature.Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-316-77772-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
PERSPECTIVES
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
