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ellesbelles94's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
lamom77's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful collection of vignettes of life growing up in the south and of the natural world. I loved how the author arranged the stories from her life along with her observations of birds/animals/plants.
jordie_pear's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
I happened to pick this long-unread book off my bookshelf when a family member was in hospice. I finished it the day after their funeral. Reading these essays helped me to acknowledge my grief. The author so beautifully captures the regret, exhaustion, hope, and fear that have accompanied my losses. I was most struck by the theme of being a caretaker, of the love and duty that inspire caretaking and the grief that will necessarily follow.
audrey88's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
lacyk_reads's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. I read it slowly and stopped reading it before bed, as it had me thinking about my own losses and I had trouble sleeping. It is a book that you read bit by bit, making it last. Her writing is so very beautiful, and I can definitely see myself picking this book up from time to time to find those moving passages. Her writing has been the best I've found so far that puts words to grief. I highlighted and marked several passages that resonated with me.
selmendoooza's review against another edition
5.0
what a special book. I truly took my time with this one and I think a lot of it was due to how deeply beautiful and resonant the passages are (and also because life itself can be chaotic and overwhelming). I hope to read it again one day across less time, but I’m grateful that I’ve taken the time with it that I have. prose surrounding nature, love, loss, and so so much more deeply felt in my chest and bones—more and more as the end came near.
there are many worthy quotes to pull, but here are two that I will continue to sit with for some time: “But the shadow side of love is always loss, and grief is only love’s own twin.” // “Here is what no one told me about grief: you inhabit it like a skin. Everywhere you go, you wear grief under your clothes. Everything you see, you see through it, like a film.”
there are many worthy quotes to pull, but here are two that I will continue to sit with for some time: “But the shadow side of love is always loss, and grief is only love’s own twin.” // “Here is what no one told me about grief: you inhabit it like a skin. Everywhere you go, you wear grief under your clothes. Everything you see, you see through it, like a film.”
erincataldi's review against another edition
4.0
Poetic, somber, jubilant, heart-wrenching, and beautiful; this collection of short essays from Margaret Renkl is a must read. Essays about the nature in her backyard, history of her grandparents, her childhood, her parents, motherhood, and migratory patterns of birds. This collection encompasses love and loss through a personal and natural lens. Interspersed throughout are beautiful color images of animals and plants. A deeply touching and deeply personal memoir of sorts. One that readers will come back to time and again.
mawalker1962's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this book! Such lovely writing. Such moving reflections on love and loss. I have long admired Renkl’s newspaper columns, and this book displays her enormous gift as a writer.
hannahwhite19's review against another edition
5.0
Incredible. Poignant, beautiful, brilliant writing. One of the best books I’ve ever read.