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.

Churchill's Secret Messenger

by Alan Hlad

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Shame & Pride, Disability, Femininity, Mental Health, Death, Family, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Politics & Government, War, Good & Evil, Safety & Danger

Tags British Literature, Historical Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Military & War, Espionage

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Clean Getaway

by Nic Stone

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Hate & Anger, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Love, Shame & Pride, Race, Aging, Death, Grandparents, Childhood & Youth, The Past, Fathers, Equality, Politics & Government, Justice, Safety & Danger

Tags African American Literature, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, US History, Black Lives Matter, Grief & Death, Modern Classic Fiction

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Clown in a Cornfield

by Adam Cesare

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Loneliness, Nostalgia, Revenge, Coming of Age, Death, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Fathers, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, Good & Evil, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, LGBTQ+

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Comfort & Joy

by Kristin Hannah

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Grief, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Femininity, Childhood & Youth, Midlife, Death, Future, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Romance, Special Occasions

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Confederates In The Attic

by Tony Horwitz

Publication year 1998

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes The Past, Grief

Tags Sociology, Action & Adventure, US History, American Civil War, Military & War, World History, Travel Literature, Humor, Politics & Government

Confederates in the Attic is a non-fiction book written by Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist Tony Horwitz. The book is a mixture of ethnography—the study of a specific group of people in a specific place—and travel writing, where Horwitz attempts to dive deeply into his childhood fascination for the American Civil War by traveling through the deep South, visiting Confederate battlefields, museums, and monuments, and interviewing the locals that he comes into contact with about their relationship to... Read Confederates In The Attic Summary

Cranford

by Elizabeth Gaskell

Publication year 1853

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Memory, Nostalgia, Gender Identity, Future

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Victorian Period, Gender & Feminism, British Literature, World History, Victorian Era

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Crave

by Tracy Wolff

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Grief, Safety & Danger

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Coming of Age, Science Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

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Crossroads

by Devney Perry

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Love, Nostalgia, Regret, Coming of Age, Place, Family, Self Discovery, Social Class, Economics

Tags Romance, Coming of Age

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Crow Mary

by Kathleen Grissom

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Gender Identity, Indigenous Identity, Race, Coming of Age, Family, Marriage, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Justice

Tags World History

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Cyrano de Bergerac

by Edmond Rostand

Publication year 1897

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Love, Art, Beauty, Truth & Lies, Grief, Shame & Pride, War, Literature

Tags Classic Fiction, Drama, Comedy & Satire, Romance, Life-Inspired Fiction, French Literature, Arts & Culture, Love & Sexuality, Grief & Death, Finance, Education, Education, Dramatic Literature, Historical Fiction

Cyrano de Bergerac: An Heroic Comedy in Five Acts by Edmond Rostand was originally published in 1898. Rostand was a popular poet and playwright in France during his lifetime. Cyrano de Bergerac is a five-act verse drama—a tragic romance, set in France in the mid-1600s. It was far more popular than all of Rostand’s other works and has been performed and adapted countless times since its initial successful run.Cyrano de Bergerac explores themes of Unrequited... Read Cyrano de Bergerac Summary

Daughters of the Bamboo Grove

by Barbara Demick

Publication year 2025

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Forgiveness, Grief, Memory, Femininity, Language, Race, Birth, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Environment, Nature Versus Nurture, Place, Daughters & Sons, Family, Siblings, Community, Economics, Globalization, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed

Tags Biography, US History, Asian History, Immigration & Refugeeism

Daughters of the Bamboo Grove (2025) is a work of narrative nonfiction by journalist Barbara Demick. The book chronicles the true story of identical twin sisters separated in infancy as the result of China’s one-child policy. After family-planning officials confiscated one of the twins, she was adopted by a family in Texas, while her sister remained with their birth family in rural Hunan Province. The narrative follows Demick’s investigation into their case and her role... Read Daughters of the Bamboo Grove Summary

Day

by Michael Cunningham

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Loneliness, Love, Masculinity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Death, Marriage, Mothers, Community, Safety & Danger

Tags LGBTQ+, Coming of Age

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Deadline

by Chris Crutcher

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Death, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Truth & Lies

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Sports, Grief & Death, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance

Chris Crutcher’s novel Deadline is a work of young adult literary fiction. Set in the small town of Trout, Idaho, the novel is written from the protagonist Ben Wolf’s first-person point of view and traces his experiences throughout his senior year of high school. An energetic and determined character, Ben is ready to live his life to its fullest before leaving home for college. However, just after his 18th birthday, Ben’s circumstances change forever when... Read Deadline Summary