Description
Book Synopsis: Finalist for the 2023 Minnesota Book AwardA sublimely elegant, fractured reckoning with the legacy and inheritance of suicide in one American family.
In 2009, Juliet Patterson was recovering from a serious car accident when she learned her father had died by suicide. His death was part of a disturbing pattern in her family. Her father’s father had taken his own life; so had her mother’s. Over the weeks and months that followed, grieving and in physical pain, Patterson kept returning to one question: Why? Why had her family lost so many men, so many fathers, and what lay beneath the silence that had taken hold?
In three graceful movements, Patterson explores these questions. In the winter of her father’s death, she struggles to make sense of the loss—sifting through the few belongings he left behind, looking to signs and symbols for meaning. As the spring thaw comes, she and her mother depart Minnesota for her father’s burial in her parents’ hometown of Pittsburg, Kansas. A once-prosperous town of promise and of violence, against people and the land, Pittsburg is now literally undermined by abandoned claims and sinkholes. There, Patterson carefully gathers evidence and radically imagines the final days of the grandfathers—one a fiery pro-labor politician, the other a melancholy businessman—she never knew. And finally, she returns to her father: to the haunting subjects of goodbyes, of loss, and of how to break the cycle.
A stunning elegy that vividly enacts Emily Dickinson’s dictum to “tell it slant,” Sinkhole richly layers personal, familial, political, and environmental histories to provide not answers but essential, heartbreaking truth.
Details
Experience a captivating journey through the pages of "Sinkhole: A Legacy of Suicide", a finalist for the prestigious 2023 Minnesota Book Award. This exquisitely written memoir delves into the profound impact of suicide within one American family. Juliet Patterson, the author, intricately weaves a fractured reckoning with the legacy and inheritance of suicide that will leave you astounded.
Immerse yourself in Patterson's moving narrative as she reflects on her own personal experiences. Following a life-altering car accident, she is faced with the devastating news of her father's suicide. The tragedy becomes even more alarming when she uncovers a pattern of suicides throughout her family history. With a compelling and emotive writing style, Patterson invites us to join her on a voyage of self-discovery, compelling us to question the reasons behind such immense loss.
Patterson's search for answers takes us on a transformative journey across two vastly different landscapes. From the frozen winters of Minnesota, where she examines the remnants of her father's life, to the hauntingly beautiful but troubled town of Pittsburg, Kansas. This once-prosperous town is now plagued by sinkholes and abandoned claims, mirroring the turbulent histories of Patterson's grandfathers. By delving into their stories, Patterson uncovers the remarkable intertwining of personal, familial, political, and environmental threads.
Sinkhole brilliantly captures the elemental essence of existence, intertwining the delicate themes of loss, grief, and the complexities of breaking the cycle. Patterson masterfully illustrates the emotional challenges faced when bidding farewell to loved ones and provides an authentic portrayal of the human experience. Prepare to be moved to your core as you traverse the poignant landscapes of the mind, heart, and soul.
If you are ready to embark on an emotionally charged literary journey that will leave an indelible mark on your spirit, look no further than "Sinkhole: A Legacy of Suicide". Click here to get your hands on this profoundly moving memoir today.
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