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By Louise Julig
These are all the books that were discussed or recommended during my online conversation with Jessica Handler, Braving the Fire Revisited, in June 2022. Entries preceded by "JH" are Handler's recommendations, and the rest are mine.
All purchases made on Bookshop help independent booksellers, and in 2023, any of my affiliate earnings from this shop will be donated to the Strong Hearted Native Women's Coalition in San Diego County.
Louise Julig (she/her/hers) is a creative nonfiction writer living in Southern California. Find her essays, performances and upcoming events at www.louisejulig.com.
Braving the Fire
Jessica Handler
Paperback
$17.99
$16.73
Jessica Handler gently and courageously guides the writer through writing about grief and loss. Includes writing exercises and stories from her own work.
Invisible Sisters
Jessica Handler
Paperback
$23.95
$22.27
Handler's beautifully written memoir of being the surviving sister of three is told with honesty and resilience.
It's OK That You're Not OK
Megan Devine,
Mark Nepo
Paperback
$18.99
$17.66
JH: recommended book by writer of Refuge in Grief blog
Blow Your House Down
Gina Frangello
Paperback
$16.95
$15.76
This searing memoir unflinchingly examines the author's life as her marriage implodes, while at the same time situating herself in the greater context of women's place in contemporary society. Beautifully written and riveting.
Companion to an Untold Story
Marcia Aldrich
Hardback
$30.95
$28.78
JH: An example of a non-linear form, the book is written as an old-fashioned reader's companion, essentially a dictionary
Between Panic and Desire
Dinty W Moore
Paperback
$14.95
$13.90
JH: contains the essay "Son of Mister Green Jeans" about fatherhood
Body Work
Melissa Febos
Paperback
$16.95
$15.76
After reading her essay "Mind Fuck: Writing Better Sex," included in this collection, I knew I would be pre-ordering anything Febos writes on craft.
Memorial Drive
Natasha Trethewey
Hardback
$29.99
$27.89
JH: Trethway's wonderful book about her mother's murder and coming to terms with it
Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?
Roz Chast
Paperback
$19.00
$17.67
JH: Graphic memoir by humorist Roe Chast about aging parents
Writing Hard Stories
Melanie Brooks
Paperback
$17.95
$16.69
JH: Anthology with lots of writers about how they wrote difficult stories
The Body Keeps the Score
Bessel van der Kolk M.D.
Paperback
$19.00
$17.67
JH: How trauma affects the body
How We Fight for Our Lives
Saeed Jones
Paperback
$18.99
$17.66
JH: Was teaching this book about the death of Saad's mother and also growing up
Good Talk
Mira Jacob
Paperback
$22.00
$20.46
A graphic memoir that examines the messy bonds of family through the lens of growing up as a child of Indian immigrants in New Mexico in the '80s and as the mother of a biracial child in New York City in the 2010s. Could not put it down.
Postcolonial Love Poem
Natalie Diaz
Paperback
$17.00
$15.81
Diaz uses the vehicle of the body to explore themes of desire, erasure, and what it means to be Indigenous in America in this Pulitzer Prize-winning collection.
The Sentence
Louise Erdrich
Hardback
$30.99
$28.82
Louise Erdrich's novel, set in 2019-20, captures in the story of Native bookseller Tookie all the humor, poignancy, grief, and love of a family living in these times in Minneapolis. It's hard to describe and a bit of a slow burn, but these characters stayed with me long after the last sentence.
Louise Julig (she/her/hers) is a creative nonfiction writer living in Southern California who writes Be Your Own Hero, a newsletter about being brave in small moments. Find her essays, performances and upcoming events at www.louisejulig.com.