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A review by casskrug
Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley
4.5
grief is for people is a sharply written exploration of the complexity of the author’s grief surrounding the suicide of her best friend and mentor, russell. the memoir is set against the backdrop of a burglary that occurred at crosley’s apartment shortly before russell passed away. the later parts of the book also incorporate the loss that the pandemic brought to the world and, more specifically, to new york city.
while i haven’t been through something as devastating and unexpected as what was described in this book, the way crosley writes about it brings her emotions to life for the reader without verging on being overwritten. she portrays russell as a full human being - she doesn’t sugarcoat her description of his flaws, but still makes obvious the love and respect she has for him. i thought the burglary was really effective as a way to frame the narrative because of how it sets the scene for the lack of security and loss that is to come. crosley grapples with her sadness over the loss of her jewelry and uses her attempts to recover it as a way to exert some sort of control over her situation and to assure herself that things will be okay. it made for an insightful look into our attachments not only to people, but to physical possessions and the memories they carry with them.
i really loved the inside look at russell and sloane’s time spent working together as book publicists. super interesting to hear behind the scenes stories about the publishing industry and the dynamic that they had while working together. i also thought that the pandemic writing was done well and didn’t overshadow the main narrative with russell. crosley used the pandemic as a vehicle to explore russell’s struggles with mental health and how the pandemic would’ve most likely impacted him, so it isn’t a full account of pandemic life.
i picked this up after seeing so many people whose opinions i trust really enjoy it, and i was not disappointed. i read it over the course of an afternoon which is always a good sign that something has gripped me. this was my first time reading anything from sloane crosley and i’ll definitely be checking out her other nonfiction!
while i haven’t been through something as devastating and unexpected as what was described in this book, the way crosley writes about it brings her emotions to life for the reader without verging on being overwritten. she portrays russell as a full human being - she doesn’t sugarcoat her description of his flaws, but still makes obvious the love and respect she has for him. i thought the burglary was really effective as a way to frame the narrative because of how it sets the scene for the lack of security and loss that is to come. crosley grapples with her sadness over the loss of her jewelry and uses her attempts to recover it as a way to exert some sort of control over her situation and to assure herself that things will be okay. it made for an insightful look into our attachments not only to people, but to physical possessions and the memories they carry with them.
i really loved the inside look at russell and sloane’s time spent working together as book publicists. super interesting to hear behind the scenes stories about the publishing industry and the dynamic that they had while working together. i also thought that the pandemic writing was done well and didn’t overshadow the main narrative with russell. crosley used the pandemic as a vehicle to explore russell’s struggles with mental health and how the pandemic would’ve most likely impacted him, so it isn’t a full account of pandemic life.
i picked this up after seeing so many people whose opinions i trust really enjoy it, and i was not disappointed. i read it over the course of an afternoon which is always a good sign that something has gripped me. this was my first time reading anything from sloane crosley and i’ll definitely be checking out her other nonfiction!