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.

Banyan Moon

by Thao Thai

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Family

Tags Relationships, Historical Fiction, Vietnam War, Asian Literature, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

... Read Banyan Moon Summary

Beach Music

by Pat Conroy

Publication year 1995

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Forgiveness, Grief, Love, Memory, Mental Health, Race, Midlife, The Past, Animals, Family, Grandparents, Mothers, Immigration, War, Loyalty & Betrayal, Music

Tags Historical Fiction, Southern Literature, Depression & Suicide, Grief & Death, Modern Classic Fiction, Dramatic Literature

Pat Conroy’s 1995 novel Beach Music is a work of historical fiction. Set primarily in South Carolina, the novel follows a community fractured by memories of the Holocaust and the social upheaval of the 1960s and 1970s. Beach Music explores the nature of generational trauma and the way our pasts shape our futures. The power of forgiveness and the differences between duty and loyalty are also prominent themes. The setting and culture of the American... Read Beach Music Summary

Bear

by Julia Phillips

Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Joy, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Nostalgia, Death, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Place, Family, Friendship, Mothers, Community, Economics, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Animals, Romance, Canadian Literature, Classic Fiction

... Read Bear Summary

Beartown

by Fredrik Backman

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Grief

Tags Humor, Sports, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Written by Fredrik Backman in 2017, Beartown is the first of a trilogy and is followed by the similarly hockey-themed novels, Us Against You (2017) and The Winners (2021). All three novels are set in the town of the same name, and Beartown focuses on the local junior hockey team, the in-game success or failure of which deeply impacts the economy of the town as a whole. As the town's intense focus on the sport... Read Beartown Summary

Because of Winn-Dixie

by Kate DiCamillo

Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Grief

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Animals, Classic Fiction

Because of Winn-Dixie is a middle-grade novel by Kate DiCamillo published in 2000 by Candlewick Books. It follows main character Opal as she learns to love her new home in Naomi, Florida with the help of a stray dog named Winn-Dixie. Steeped in the traditions of Southern literature, the book won a Newbery Honor distinction and a Parents’ Choice Gold Award, among other awards. DiCamillo has been a beloved children's author since publication of Because of... Read Because of Winn-Dixie Summary

Belonging

by Nora Krug

Publication year 2018

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Family, Guilt, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Grief, Hate & Anger, Hope, Loneliness, Memory, Shame & Pride, Mental Health, Race, Death, The Past, Place, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, War, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags European History, Holocaust, World War II

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Beneath

by Ariel Sullivan

Publication year 2026

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Grief, Guilt, Memory, Death, The Past, Teamwork, Social Class, Politics & Government, Truth & Lies

Tags Science Fiction, Romance

Ariel Sullivan’s Beneath (2026) is a dystopian romance and the second novel in her dueling trilogy that began with Conform (2025). Sullivan is a New York Times best-selling author who grew up in a military family, an experience that informs the novel’s focus on military-style social structures. The novel is set six years after a nuclear war has forced humanity into Haven, an underground bunker with a society that has been organized into a rigid... Read Beneath Summary

Betty

by Tiffany McDaniel

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Indigenous Identity, Family, Grief, Hope, Hate & Anger, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Race, Coming of Age, Environment, Mothers, Siblings, Good & Evil, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Trauma & Abuse

... Read Betty Summary

Bewilderment

by Richard Powers

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Grief, Environment, Family

Tags Science Fiction, Symbolic Narrative, Climate Change, Grief & Death, Mental Illness, Science & Nature, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

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Bird Box

by Josh Malerman

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Teamwork, Loyalty & Betrayal, Place, Community, Safety & Danger, Memory, Birth, Environment, Daughters & Sons, Mental Health, Fear, Mothers, Grief, Order & Chaos, Appearance & Reality, Trust & Doubt, Perseverance, Nostalgia, Hope, Loneliness, Apathy

Tags Horror & Suspense, Science Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction

Bird Box is a 2014 post-apocalyptic, dystopian horror novel by Josh Malerman. The story follows a woman’s struggle to protect two children in a world where people are driven to violence by unseen monsters, touching on such themes as paranoia, raising children to deal with an uncertain future, and the dangers of exceptionalism. Bird Box won a Michigan Notable Book Award and was also nominated for the James Herbert Award as well as the Bram... Read Bird Box Summary

Bird By Bird

by Anne Lamott

Publication year 1994

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Literature, Perseverance, Grief, Language

Tags Self-Improvement, Humor, Arts & Culture, Biography

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott was originally published in 1994. Many of Lamott’s books have been on the New York Times bestsellers list, which qualifies her to offer advice about how to write. She also taught at writing conferences and at UC Davis, received a Guggenheim Fellowship, and was inducted into the California Hall of Fame. Bird by Bird is a combination of memoir, self-help book, and writing... Read Bird By Bird Summary

Blackbird House

by Alice Hoffman

Publication year 2004

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Hope, Loneliness, Death, The Past, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Plants, Place, Family, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil

Tags Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, World History, Romance, Fantasy

Published in 2004, Alice Hoffman’s novel Blackbird House chronicles a house on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and its inhabitants over a 200-year span. The story, which invokes elements of magical realism, begins during the War of 1812 and ends in the present day. Shifting between first-person and third-person point-of-view, the novel delves into the themes of Love as Motivation, Resilience Resulting from Adversity, and The Power of Place in Shaping Lives.Other works by this author include... Read Blackbird House Summary