The Bright Hour (by Nina Riggs)
This is a posthumous memoir by a woman who died of metastatic breast cancer. I first learned about her and her book because her widower is now dating Paul Kalaiathi's widow.
This is a beautiful memoir about Riggs dealing with her own cancer as well as her mother's illness and death. The writing is at times poetic, funny and endearing, and often profoundly thought-provoking. I feel like as I grow older and continue to grapple with mortality, this will be a book I return to.
“I am reminded of an image...that living with a terminal disease is like walking on a tightrope over an insanely scary abyss. But that living without disease is also like walking on a tightrope over an insanely scary abyss, only with some fog or cloud cover obscuring the depths a bit more -- sometimes the wind blowing it off a little, sometimes a nice dense cover.”
This is a beautiful memoir about Riggs dealing with her own cancer as well as her mother's illness and death. The writing is at times poetic, funny and endearing, and often profoundly thought-provoking. I feel like as I grow older and continue to grapple with mortality, this will be a book I return to.
“I am reminded of an image...that living with a terminal disease is like walking on a tightrope over an insanely scary abyss. But that living without disease is also like walking on a tightrope over an insanely scary abyss, only with some fog or cloud cover obscuring the depths a bit more -- sometimes the wind blowing it off a little, sometimes a nice dense cover.”
Labels: 2018 read harder challenge, kindle, library, memoir, nonfiction
posted by mo pie at 10:01 AM
1 Comments:
I just read this one, too, and for the same reason. I'd noticed it when it came out, but try to space out my "beautifully written but sad" books. I might try to find some of Riggs' poetry . I wasn't surprised to read that she was a poet -- she had a lovely way with language. I loved her comparison of the noises inside an MRI machine to an alien punk band and also her engagement with RWE and Montaigne. It's the kind of book that makes me want to read more books.
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