Reading Recommendation

Elizabeth Alexander's exquisite memoir, The Light of the World, is one of my all-time favourite memoirs for a number of reasons. Firstly, Alexander is a poet, so the text sings and lifts off the page is such graceful ways that even in its most tragic moments, this story is ringed with light.

The book is a roaring long song, and anyone with a sad story to tell can learn from this book the ways in which it is possible to compose a dark story so that it is also a gift to its readers.

For those who don't know Elizabeth Alexander, she composed and recited "Praise Song for the Day," for President Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration. She is the author of six books of poetry, including American Sublime, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

From the book jacket: "In 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, Elizabeth Alexander finds herself at an existential crossroads after the sudden death of her husband. Channelling her poetic sensibilities into a rich, lucid price, Alexander tells a love story that is, itself, a story of loss. As she reflects on the beauty of her married life, the trauma resulting from her husband's death, and the solace found in caring for her two teenage sons, Alexander universalizes a very personal quest for meaning and acceptance in the wake of loss.