An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination : a Memoir (2008)

by Elizabeth McCracken

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2008 (3) 2009 (7) 2011 (3) ARC (7) autobiography (3) BC091612 (3) biography (10) Biography/Memoir (6) death (8) death of a child (4) family (2) France (13) grief (28) loss (9) loss of a child (3) memoir (73) miscarriage (7) NF (3) non-fiction (45) parenting (7) pregnancy (14) read (6) read in 2008 (8) read in 2009 (7) stillbirth (12) stillborn (2) to-read (19) unowned (3) women (2) writers (4)

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Showing 1-5 of 26 (next | show all)

this is a very well-written memoir about the author's loss of her first baby in her ninth month of pregnancy. (

)

julierh | Apr 7, 2013 |

Searing examination of the grief that comes with a stillborn baby. Intense and full of breathtaking moments, time spent teetering on the edge of the abyss, time spent in free fall, and time spent blinking, wondering how everything can look so ordinary after it's all over. But it's never all over.

This is an absolutely lovely book about what it means to be human, what it feels like to hurt in ways very nearly unimaginable to those who haven't been there, and what it's like on the other side of that particular ocean.

Extraordinary. The author's narration is beautiful, too.

Highly recommended. Unless you are pregnant or could become pregnant, in which case stay the hell away from this book. (

)

satyridae | Apr 5, 2013 |

I adore Elizabeth McCracken. (

)

JennyArch | Apr 3, 2013 |

Read by the author, which is important in so personal a story. Of all the audiobooks I've "read," this is the most similar to the print version. McCracken's voice is a little low and flat, but one gets used to it quickly.

"grief lasts longer than sympathy" (

)

JennyArch | Apr 3, 2013 |

Far too intense and personal to assign any sort of rating to--to judge this one by silly stars seems disrespectful to the incredibly painful subject matter. It's excellent, though; rarely am I as empathetically involved as I was with this memoir. Probably not a good book to read if you are or plan to ever be pregnant on grounds of sheer horror and tragedy. (Though the sorrow was gorgeously balanced with humor and humanity.)

aliceunderskies | Apr 1, 2013 |

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Canonical title

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination : a Memoir

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2008

People/Characters

Important places

Bordeaux, France

Important events

Related movies

Awards and honors

New York Times Notable Book of the Year (Nonfiction, 2008)

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

Once upon a time, before I knew anything about the subject, a woman told me that I should write a book about the lighter side of losing a child. (This is not that book.)

Quotations

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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

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Blurbers

Sebold, Alice

Doty, Mark

Medwed, Mameve

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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0316027677, Hardcover)

"This is the happiest story in the world with the saddest ending," writes Elizabeth McCracken in her powerful, inspiring memoir. A prize-winning, successful novelist in her 30s, McCracken was happy to be an itinerant writer and self-proclaimed spinster. But suddenly she fell in love, got married, and two years ago was living in a remote part of France, working on her novel, and waiting for the birth of her first child.
This book is about what happened next. In her ninth month of pregnancy, she learned that her baby boy had died. How do you deal with and recover from this kind of loss? Of course you don't--but you go on. And if you have ever experienced loss or love someone who has, the company of this remarkable book will help you go on.
With humor and warmth and unfailing generosity, McCracken considers the nature of love and grief. She opens her heart and leaves all of ours the richer for it.

(retrieved from Amazon Tue, 19 Apr 2011 02:13:35 -0400)

▾Library descriptions

The author traces her marriage and relocation to France at the height of her writing career, her devastation over her stillborn son in her ninth month of pregnancy, and her heart-wrenching grieving process.

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