Lifesaving for Beginners (eBook)

A Memoir

Anne Edelstein (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2017
225 Seiten
Red Hen Press (Verlag)
978-1-59709-579-2 (ISBN)

Infos

When her mother suddenly drowns at age sixty-eight, Anne Edelstein, caring for two small children of her own, must grapple with her family’s history of tragic death and mental illness and her unresolved relationship with a distant and criticizing parent she could never really embrace.

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"e;[The author] tells the story of how her mother's unexpected death forced her to come to terms with a tragic family past . . . A poignantly candid memoir."e; -Kirkus ReviewsWhen Anne Edelstein was forty-two, her mother, a capable swimmer in good health, drowned while snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. Caring for two children of her own, Anne suddenly found herself grieving not only for her emotionally distant mother but also for her beloved younger brother Danny, who'd killed himself violently years before-and wrestling with the past and her family's legacy of mental illness as well as the emotional well-being of her children. Part memoir and part meditation on joy and grief, Lifesaving for Beginners will resonate with anyone who's struggled to come to terms with their family and their place in the world."e;While dramatic events set this memoir in motion, the triumph of Lifesaving for Beginners is that its heart lies not in the large ruptures of life but in the reconciliations that arrive quietly and routinely. I admire-and envy-the writing in this book. Its smooth surface belies its depths, much like the open waters Edelstein swims in as she seeks her own calmness and consolation."e; -Kathleen Finneran, author of The Tender Land"e;An unforgettable-and unputdownable-portrait of a singular American family. Reminiscent of Vivian Gornick's Fierce Attachments and Daphne Merkin's This Close to Happy."e; -Joanna Rakoff, author of My Salinger Year"e;[This book] is indeed a lifesaver."e; -Mark Epstein, author of Going to Pieces without Falling Apart

Rezensionen

“Anne Edelstein maps the tragic legacy of her brother’s suicide and her mother’s accidental death with grace and fortitude, shedding light on the darkest of secrets. In the quotidian domain of family life, she finds the simple poetry of love and forgiveness. Lifesaving for Beginners is a soaring tribute to the ties that bind us, what makes us whole as human beings.”—Anne Landsman, author of The Devil's Chimney and The Rowing Lesson



“While dramatic events set this memoir in motion, the triumph of Lifesaving for Beginners is that its heart lies not in the large ruptures of life but in the reconciliations that arrive quietly and routinely. I admire—and envy—the writing in this book. Its smooth surface belies its depths, much like the open waters Edelstein swims in as she seeks her own calmness and consolation.”—Kathleen Finneran, author of The Tender Land



“Anne Edelstein’s remarkable debut is an unforgettable—and unputdownable—portrait of a singular American family. Reminiscent of Vivian Gornick’s Fierce Attachments and Daphne Merkin’s This Close to Happy, this slyly powerful memoir reads like a conversation with your kindest, funniest, most incisive friend. —Joanna Rakoff, author of My Salinger Year and A Fortunate Age





“Loss, grief, and ‘the proof of love’ are at stake in this poignant and penetrating memoir of a daughter’s quest to understand her elusive mother, the suicide of her beloved brother, and the mystery at the heart of the will to live.”—Jill Bialosky, author of History of a Suicide: My Sister’s Unfinished life



“As if in the eye of a hurricane, Anne Edelstein writes courageously about the deaths that swirl about her. Calm, clear, moving and oh-so poignant, Lifesaving for Beginners is a breathtaking portrait of our fruitless efforts to shield each other from the most painful aspects of life. Her book points in another direction and it is indeed a lifesaver.”—Mark Epstein, author of The Trauma of Everyday Life and Going to Pieces without Falling Apart



“In this stunningly eloquent memoir, Edelstein grieves for her mother’s drowning to unearth an even deeper grief—the one for her brother who killed himself fifteen years before. In what can be the sometimes garrote of family (as well as its absolute joys) alongside a legacy of mental illness, Lifesaving for Beginners is a graceful GPS for finding your safe shore, no matter how distant it seems.”—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times Bestselling author of Pictures of You and Cruel Beautiful World

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 7.11.2017
• Verlagsort: Pasadena
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie ► Familie / Erziehung
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie ► Psychologie
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Psychologie ► Trennung / Trauer
• Schlagworte: memoir, loss, grief, love, family, mental illness, children, death, drowned
• ISBN-10: 1-59709-579-6 / 1597095796
• ISBN-13: 978-1-59709-579-2 / 9781597095792