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emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
โWords may fall short, but they cast long shadows that sometimes can reach the unspeakable.โ
Sad and profound reflections on parenting and experiencing the loss of a child. Above all, this is a memoir about a mother trying to continue living in an abyss after losing two children by suicide.
Li is a gifted writer, and her prose is poetic and lyrical. The clearheaded, fact-driven approach to such an emotional subject matter was compelling. The perspectives shared in this book were not what I was expecting, in the best possible way. I also appreciated the important and practical information on how outsiders should and should not treat parents that have lost a child.
Sad and profound reflections on parenting and experiencing the loss of a child. Above all, this is a memoir about a mother trying to continue living in an abyss after losing two children by suicide.
Li is a gifted writer, and her prose is poetic and lyrical. The clearheaded, fact-driven approach to such an emotional subject matter was compelling. The perspectives shared in this book were not what I was expecting, in the best possible way. I also appreciated the important and practical information on how outsiders should and should not treat parents that have lost a child.
Vincent and James were beautiful and brilliant boys that were uniquely themselves and wise beyond their years. I feel honored to have learned about them through the words of their mother. RIP Vincent and James ๐
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Suicide
Moderate: Suicide attempt
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Suicide attempt
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, Suicide attempt
I can't imagine what it would be like to have both your sons die by suicide and in this heartbreaking memoir, Yiyun Li says that sometimes there are just no words. Though the memory was written after son James' death, the reader also gets an intimate perspective of son Victor as a natural contrast.
I'm curious to reread WHERE REASONS END to see how Li's perspective may have changed between the two losses. Li's "radical acceptance" may be controversial to some - I know myself to be way too selfish to be the kind of enlightened that can come about from such devastating loss.
I was surprised by the choice of narrator (Suzanne Toren, an expert in European languages), but perhaps it's actually not surprising given Chinese-born Li does not consider herself a "Chinese writer." Given what she experienced from the Chinese media following her sons' deaths, I can see why she'd want to distance herself even further. If anyone needs a "leave Britney alone" meme, it's this woman...
I'm curious to reread WHERE REASONS END to see how Li's perspective may have changed between the two losses. Li's "radical acceptance" may be controversial to some - I know myself to be way too selfish to be the kind of enlightened that can come about from such devastating loss.
I was surprised by the choice of narrator (Suzanne Toren, an expert in European languages), but perhaps it's actually not surprising given Chinese-born Li does not consider herself a "Chinese writer." Given what she experienced from the Chinese media following her sons' deaths, I can see why she'd want to distance herself even further. If anyone needs a "leave Britney alone" meme, it's this woman...
Cliches are not merely flabby words used to express unimaginative thoughts, rather, cliches corrode the mind. Flabby language begetting flabby thinking seems a more alarming prospect than the opposite - flabby thinking finding refuge in flabby language. My garden is not a metaphor for hope or regeneration. The flowers are never tasked to be the heralds for brightness and optimism. Things in nature merely grow.
Sometimes a mother and a child are like two hands placed next to each other, only just touching or else with fingers intertwined. Then the world turns and one hand is left. holding on to everything and nothing that is called now and now and now and now.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
devastating. I do not think I have ever seen someone write about suicide in this way before. I gained a lot from reading this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness
Thank you Libro.fm for the gifted ALC! ๐ง
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Suicide
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt