“Part of  what makes grief so seductive then, is that it offers what life no longer can: an ongoing, emotionally potent connection to the dead. And so it is easy to feel that once that bleak gift is gone, the person we love will be more gone, too. That’s our strange relationship with the pain of grief. In the early days we wish only for it to end. Later on, we fear that it will. And when it finally begins to ease, it does not. Because it first feeling better feels like loss, too.”

At first, I didn’t think that this memoir was going to grab hold of me the way that I did. Starting with a deep dive into her father’s family history and Holocaust story, I thought I might be getting into a different type of book. But when Schulz delved into her feelings after his loss, I was spellbound by her lyrical prose, perfectly articulating what is so often difficult to convey (while also giving insight and context on how we use language). To then pull threads of connection in profound loss with the greatest of joys in finding true love was masterful. I was then buoyed by that joy, the recognition of having it, too.
A book hasn’t made me cry in a long time and this one did so many times, but I didn’t come away sad at all.
Clearly, I chose it for personal reasons as I am in that space after losing a parent. But I also picked it up because I tend toward enjoying Pulitzer winning writers, and this was no exception. This book was also long listed for the NBA this year.
Beautiful beautiful beautiful. I can’t recommend this book enough and I think it deserves more hype.