Grief

"The art of losing isn't hard to master," wrote poet Elizabeth Bishop. Perhaps she meant that we will all face loss at some point in our lives. In this collection, we have brought together texts that take up the universal experience of grief.

A River in Darkness

by Masaji Ishikawa, Transl. Martin Brown, Transl. Risa Kobayashi

Publication year 2000

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Guilt, Loneliness, Regret, Shame & Pride, Masculinity, Mental Health, Race, Childhood & Youth, Fathers, Social Class, Colonialism, Immigration, Politics & Government, Safety & Danger

Tags World History, Japanese Literature, Biography, Asian History, Politics & Government, Inspirational

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As Bright As Heaven

by Susan Meissner

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes War, Family, Grief, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Gratitude, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Regret, Nostalgia, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Coming of Age, Death, Self Discovery

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II

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A Severe Mercy

by Sheldon Vanauken

Publication year 1977

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Marriage, Beauty, Grief, Death, Self Discovery, Love, Trust & Doubt

Tags Religion & Spirituality, Christian, Grief & Death, Biography

Sheldon Vanauken’s celebrated memoir A Severe Mercy is a moving portrait of deep love confronted with suffering and death. Published in 1977, A Severe Mercy was written by Vanauken from the compilation of many years’ worth of journal entries, hand-written letters, and firsthand accounts of the people and events that the narrative relates. As a Yale- and Oxford-trained scholar and professor of English and an accomplished poet and author, Vanauken brings his literary expertise to... Read A Severe Mercy Summary

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

by William Wordsworth

Publication year 1800

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Grief, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Nostalgia, Aging, Death, Environment, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Lyric Poem, Grief & Death, Romanticism

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) is the author of the lyrical ballad “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal” (1800). The poem appears in the second edition of Lyrical Ballads (1800), which featured poems by Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. There are four editions of Lyrical Ballads, and the first edition (1798) helped launch English Romanticism. The movement stressed the tumultuous power of nature and the individual human spirit. “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal” reflects the principles... Read A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Summary

A Temporary Matter

by Jhumpa Lahiri

Publication year 1998

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Marriage, Grief, Loneliness

Tags Indian Literature, Grief & Death, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction

“A Temporary Matter” by American author Jhumpa Lahiri was originally published in the New Yorker in 1998. Published in 1999, Lahiri’s Pulitzer Prize-winning debut short story collection Interpreter of Maladies opens with “A Temporary Matter.” The story follows Shoba and Shukumar, an Indian American married couple in their thirties, as they reconnect for one hour each evening during a planned electricity outage. Over the course of five nights, Shoba and Shukumar explore the complexities of... Read A Temporary Matter Summary

A Thousand Steps into Night

by Traci Chee

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Hate & Anger, Grief, Hope, Love, Regret, Revenge, Shame & Pride, Beauty, Equality, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Wins & Losses, Appearance & Reality, Space, Animals, Place, Daughters & Sons, Friendship, Fathers, Family, Teamwork, Femininity, Gender Identity, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Social Class

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Mythology, Coming of Age, Historical Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Asian Literature, Japanese Literature

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Attack Of The Black Rectangles

by A.S King

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Hate & Anger, Guilt, Appearance & Reality, Equality, Justice, Literature, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies, Family, Fathers, Grandparents, Friendship, Daughters & Sons, Mothers, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Community, Education, Trust & Doubt

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Coming of Age, Education

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Awake

by Jen Hatmaker

Publication year 2025

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Marriage, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Hate & Anger, Hope, Joy, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Femininity, Midlife, Future, The Past, Daughters & Sons, Family, Friendship, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Community, Equality, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Music, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Memoir & Autobiography, Relationships

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A Year of Marvelous Ways

by Sarah Winman

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Mental Health, War

Tags Historical Fiction

Set in late 1947 in the fictional Cornish hamlet of St. Ophere, the novel interweaves the lives of Marvelous Ways, a nearly 90-year-old woman with an extraordinary past, and Drake, a traumatized World War II veteran, as they converge at a tidal creek where Marvelous has lived most of her life.Marvelous stands by the roadside of the hamlet, now desolate. Its granite cottages are boarded up, the population having dwindled after the First World War... Read A Year of Marvelous Ways Summary

Bag of Bones

by Stephen King

Publication year 1998

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, The Past, Place, Literature, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Fantasy

Bag of Bones (1998) is a gothic horror novel by American author Stephen King. The novel follows Mike Noonan, a recently widowed author who has an overwhelming case of writer’s block. After experiencing several haunting dreams about his summer house, named Sara Laughs, Mike visits the house to attempt writing one last time. He soon gets embroiled in a legal battle between a local woman named Mattie Devore and her father-in-law, computer tycoon Max Devore... Read Bag of Bones Summary