header image for Braving the Fire Revisited Recommended Books
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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. 

bookcover for Braving the Fire

Braving the Fire

Jessica Handler 

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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.

bookcover for Invisible Sisters

Invisible Sisters

Jessica Handler 

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Paperback

$23.95

$22.27

Handler's beautifully written memoir of being the surviving sister of three is told with honesty and resilience.

bookcover for It's OK That You're Not OK

It's OK That You're Not OK

Megan Devine, 

Mark Nepo 

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Paperback

$18.99

$17.66

JH: recommended book by writer of Refuge in Grief blog

bookcover for Blow Your House Down

Blow Your House Down

Gina Frangello 

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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.

bookcover for Companion to an Untold Story

Companion to an Untold Story

Marcia Aldrich 

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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

bookcover for Between Panic and Desire

Between Panic and Desire

Dinty W Moore 

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Paperback

$14.95

$13.90

JH: contains the essay "Son of Mister Green Jeans" about fatherhood

bookcover for Body Work

Body Work

Melissa Febos 

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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.

bookcover for Memorial Drive

Memorial Drive

Natasha Trethewey 

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Hardback

$29.99

$27.89

JH: Trethway's wonderful book about her mother's murder and coming to terms with it

bookcover for Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?

Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?

Roz Chast 

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Paperback

$19.00

$17.67

JH: Graphic memoir by humorist Roe Chast about aging parents

bookcover for Writing Hard Stories

Writing Hard Stories

Melanie Brooks 

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Paperback

$17.95

$16.69

JH: Anthology with lots of writers about how they wrote difficult stories

bookcover for The Body Keeps the Score

The Body Keeps the Score

Bessel van der Kolk M.D. 

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Paperback

$19.00

$17.67

JH: How trauma affects the body

bookcover for How We Fight for Our Lives

How We Fight for Our Lives

Saeed Jones 

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Paperback

$18.99

$17.66

JH: Was teaching this book about the death of Saad's mother and also growing up

bookcover for Good Talk

Good Talk

Mira Jacob 

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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.

bookcover for Postcolonial Love Poem

Postcolonial Love Poem

Natalie Diaz 

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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.

bookcover for The Sentence

The Sentence

Louise Erdrich 

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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.