Amy Lin

A brief and beautiful memoir of loss and grief. Lin lost her beloved husband at 31 for no apparent reason. He was athletic and healthy running a half marathon when his heart just stopped. She is left hollow, held up, though barely, by a strong and loving family and friend group. A few days later she experiences pain and swelling and is found to have a serious potentially fatal clotting disorder. I won't say more, but you should read this. It is beautifully written. It is also agonizingly show more honest and painful but elucidating to read. I listened to this read by the author. She won't want to give up her day job to become an audiobook narrator, but I thought having her read this particular book added value. show less

This was my first Book of the Month pick, and I have absolutely no regrets. This personal memoir about grief and becoming a young widow is incredibly tender and moving. The narrative follows a linear timeline interspersed with reflections and memories, creating a short yet profoundly sweet read. It only took nine pages to break me, and by the third emotional hit, I decided to start annotating all the passages that deeply moved me. There were twelve in total. I was crying and sniffling show more through the entire book, deeply empathizing with Amy as she vividly described her grief. Her ability to articulate these impossible feelings is astonishing, making me ravenous for more from her. She places a strong emphasis on mental health, and it feels authentic and unforced. I greatly admire her strength in sharing such a deeply personal experience. This memoir is a beautiful reflection on the idea that to grieve means you were lucky enough to have loved. While it’s an essential read, it's also an intense emotional one. show less

Beautifully written, Amy Lin has poured her personal thoughts into this insightful memoir. She reveals the pain and deep sadness that sits in her heart. Her husband passed away suddenly in his 30s when their marriage was relatively new. It was a time when their love kept them close. One day, she witnessed him no longer breathing and this unexpected shock was alarming.

The book has a different type of format where she puts her personal thoughts on a page or two. It goes from the present to show more the past, at times remembering her husband, Kurtis, fondly. She said exactly what she was thinking without being long-winded. She also talked about her own serious health issues that showed up shortly after he died.

Her words are powerful as she goes through a series of troubling setbacks. I believe her story will be helpful for many suffering from painful grief. I wish she also included the appropriate words to say to a person that has lost someone and feeling uneasy. And, I wonder about how her parents and some of his friends resolved their grief. Perhaps that will come next. show less

nonfiction/memoir - love, grief after sudden loss of husband (author is Chinese/British-Canadian).

not quite written "in verse" but the chapters are short, with short sentences/paragraphs formatted in a way that is super readable and very poetic in a modern way. When I casually picked it up, thinking I was not currently in the mood for a "grief memoir," I took in the first chapter in one glance and was instantly pulled in--so I ended up starting this one earlier than expected, and then just show more had to keep reading until I'd finished it.

These pages are filled with so much love intertwined with the heartwrenching pain of having one's life so unexpectedly, irrevocably turned upside down--and also provide a realistic picture of grief (unlike the commonly held misconceptions that the author learns are false).

See also the graphic memoir In Waves by AJ Dungo, about the death of his partner at a young age. show less