A deeply moving book of prose and poetry that captures the bittersweet and dark nature of grief and letting go. This is a timeless companion for people of all ages, stages and phases of life. If you are going through something, letting go of something or someone then this book will see you and take the measure of your sadness, anger and fear – letting light into your life for clarity and connection with self and the world.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Genre: Poetry, psychology, non-fiction, spirituality
Publisher: Self-published
Review in one word: Salutary
Good grief is a wonderful collection filled with timeless wisdom to carry you through times of despair. In this book, hope moves into the room with you on iridescent wings and with sparkling, knowing eyes.
If you happen to be traversing difficult terrain in your life, the grieving of a situation, person (human being or non-human being) or period of your life, then with Brianna Pastor, you will be in expert hands.
This is a book of poetry, but in a way it has the heft and impact of a great self-help book. Yet without the verbiage, clutter and theory. Instead the writing has the cadence of raw, unfiltered emotion and universal wisdom that will hold you, guide you and give you the sense of being truly seen, without even needing to have a conversation with anybody. This surely is the mark of great art! Messy, human and alive with connection.
If you are a survivor of trauma, abuse, PTSD or any other deeply troubling past experience, then you will gain a lot from this powerful book. An extraordinary book that I highly recommend.
Brianna Pastor is a a queer writer from New Jersey, USA, she survivor of immense family trauma and intergenerational trauma and used writing as a way to find her way through this. She talks in more detail about her experience and her early life in this interview for Mental magazine.
Just as an aside, I find the recent trend of not capitalising people’s names, book titles and sentences jarring. However one needs to also ask if it really matters so much given the subject matter. It’s easy to forgot the importance of this after a while of reading this elegant book. Here are some vividly rendered excerpts for you to enjoy. They glimmer and shimmer with insight.
“your traumas
are never indicative of
who you are
and how well
you deserve to be loved”
“love does not equate to staying quiet.
good grief, brianna pastor
sometimes
it has to be outspoken,
always loud,
and forever on fire.”
“you are in every single thing you see. every single thing you touch. every life you pass through or step in. once your energy has been placed there, nothing is ever exactly the same as it was.”
Buy on Amazon and in all good independent book stores
Content Catnip 