In the Unlikely Event of a Water Landing: A Geography of Grief

by Christopher Noël

"A gifted novelist, Noel writes his heart out in this book. Better than any book familiar to this reader, [this one] captures the tormented psychological circling, the ceremony of mourning and altar-building that mark those left behind. That Noel succeeds so well is a tribute to his bristling intelligence, his talent for deft description, his willingness to open every millimeter of his survival strategy since Brigid's death."
-The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Noel says the toughest, most poignant things there are to say and with decided clarity, even humor, confirms the power of the human spirit to survive. His narrative of loss and the uncanny persistence of memory is beautiful and disturbing."
-Howard Norman, author of "The Bird Artist"

"Noel writes very well indeed. His book is an honest one, and therefore painful."
-Peter Matthiessen, author of "The Snow Leopard"

"Noel is absolutely unflinching. Idiosyncratic details like the tiny shard of windshield glass that he discovers in Brigid's datebook bring her back to life, and small private moments flawlessly rendered make his grief real. The soul needs stories like this. It positively craves them."
-Chris Bohjalian, author of "Before You Know Kindness" and "Midwives"

"In the Unlikely Event is a page-turner, polished, skillful. Within a few pages or even paragraphs, Noel often moves back and forth between decades. In one breath he's chronicling his relationship with Brigid; in another, he reads from a journal kept by his mother during his childhood, weaving it all together to try to heal. Indeed, a perfect stranger could cry."
-The Los Angeles Times

Genres: Biography Memoir

239 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 1996

About the author

Also writes children's fiction as Chris Noël.

See also: Christopher Noël.

Reviews

[Victoria Namkung · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Unlikely Event of a Water Landing is a poetic journey through an ocean of grief. Heartbreaking and humorous at times, this memoir has plenty to say about loving, being loved, and the spirit of surviving.

[Justwinter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wrenching personal account of losing someone you love in an unexpected accident.

Harrowing read, but so well written that I felt haunted by it, and re-read it again recently.

It doesn't linger after the second read the way it did the first time, but does bring up issues of attending today those things we often feel we have a lifetime to say or do.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunning nonfiction book of grief and recovery.

[Lucinda Henrichson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Huh??? I don't understand these positive reviews. My husband just died tragically at 43 and I felt nothing reading this book. I just finished a year of magical thinking so maybe I'm expecting too much.

[Mare Cromwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so brilliantly written. I turn to it again and again to see how one very gifted author portrayed such a difficult time in his life.

[Rhian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this beautiful, understated memoir many years ago when it first came out (1997?) and think about it often.

I hope the writer is doing well and still writing...