Braving the Fire: A Guide to Writing About Grief and Loss

by Jessica Handler

Braving the Fire is the first book to provide a road map for the journey of writing honestly about grief and loss. Created specifically by and for the writer who has experienced illness, loss, or the death of a loved one, Braving the Fire takes the writers' perspective in exploring the challenges and rewards for the writer who has chosen, with courage and candor, to be the memory keeper. It will be useful to the memoirist just starting out, as well as those already in the throes of coming to terms with complicated emotions and the challenges of shaping a compelling, coherent true story.

Loosely organized around the familiar Kübler-Ross model of Five Stages of Grief, Braving the Fire uses these stages to help the reader and writer though the emotional and writing tasks before them, incorporating interviews and excerpts from other treasured writers who've done the same. Insightful contributions from Nick Flynn, Darin Strauss, Kathryn Rhett, Natasha Trethewey, and Neil White, among others, are skillfully blended with Handler's own approaches to facing grief a second time to be able to write about it. Each section also includes advice and wisdom from leading doctors and therapists about the physical experience of grieving. Each chapter ends with a selection of writing exercises that focus on the chapter content.

Handler is a compassionate guide who has braved the fire herself, and delivers practical and inspirational direction throughout.

Genres: Writing, Grief, Nonfiction, Memoir

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 2013

About the author

Jessica Handler is the author of the novel The Magnetic Girl, winner of the 2020 Southern Book Prize and a nominee for the Townsend Prize for Fiction, a 2019 “Books All Georgians Should Read,” an Indie Next pick, Wall Street Journal Spring 2019 pick, Bitter Southerner Summer 2019 pick, and a Southern Independent Bookseller’s Association “Okra Pick.” Her memoir Invisible Sisters was also named one of the “Books All Georgians Should Read,” and her craft guide Braving the Fire: A Guide to Writing About Grief and Loss was praised by Vanity Fair magazine. Her writing has appeared on NPR, in Tin House, Drunken Boat, Full Grown People, Oldster, The Bitter Southerner, Electric Literature, Brevity, Creative Nonfiction, Newsweek, The Washington Post and elsewhere. Honors include the Ferrol Sams, Jr. Distinguished Writer in Residence at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia and the Kenyon Review Peter Taylor Fellowship. She is a visiting faculty member at West Virginia Wesleyan College’s low-residency MFA, and member of the faculty at Etowah Valley MFA at Reinhardt College. Her novel, The World To See, is forthcoming from Regal House Press. Jessica lives in Atlanta with her husband, novelist Mickey Dubrow.

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took a writing workshop with Handler that’s one of the most useful ones I’ve done. I appreciated the structured approach to writing—much of which is in this book. I am drawing on it in my own writing right now.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ostensibly, this is a book about how to write memoir about grief and loss, but all memoir (even if it's not about a human death) is about grief and loss. Handler is a beautiful writer and her practical examples from other writers will shed clear light on the difficult task of writing memoir, whether it's about the loss of a loved one or the loss of a way of life. This book belongs on the top shelf of any library about memoir writing.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am torn on how to rate this book. There are some good ideas/points in here, and I think it is worth a read. However, I did not like the organization of it (the use of the Kubler Ross stages of grief). I did not think that "trick" was necessary. I was also hoping for a little more direction on writing. A lot of it was discussions of other peoples' memoirs. It was good information, but not quite enough, in my opinion.

[Karon Luddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessica Handler approaches this topic with confidence and compassion. She befriends the reader right up front and continues the conversation throughout the book, guiding the reader to write articulate thoughtful, healing narratives about their losses. If you get a chance to be in one of her workshops, sign up. She is an amazing teacher.

[Erika Dreifus]

Read complimentary digital galley provided by the publisher in preparation for author Q&A, which is available at http://www.erikadreifus.com/resources....

[Kim Gausepohl · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I get my book together I’ll need to add this to the acknowledgements section. A wonderful resource and how-to for tackling a grief / loss memoir.

[J.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read not only for memorialists but also for any writer.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conversational and friendly, encouraging but honest, this is the guide I wish I'd known about when I was writing my own memoir about grief and loss. It covers everything--from how to write about difficult characters, to how to do research and how to take care of your body during the process of writing. I love the way Handler gives examples, along the way, of her own process. The exercises are helpful, too, and I'm sure I will use them in my classes. I'll also recommend this book to my students, for sure.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book on writing, not just on writing about grief and loss. The author references other writers in the genre and uses their work and commentary to support the different stages of writing a memoir.

[David Bossert · Rating 5 out of 5]

IT was a very helpful book for anyone writing about personal trauma and loss.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

An articulate look at what goes into writing a grief memoir. This is a book I'll refer to over and over again.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's probably a reason that I kept renewing this book at the library but never got through the first half of it. As a writer, I was hoping to find a way to possibly incorporate stories of my husband into something that I might be able to publish someday, or at least feel a sense of accomplishment from. Unfortunately I didn't find it here. The first part of this book is very dull and it just goes on and on about nothing, really. I found that reading the author's story about her loss was upsetting and not very helpful, since I am still in the early stages of grief. It's not to say that I don't recommend this book for others, because I'm sure that some people will find it helpful, but I wish it had been organized a little differently which would have made it more interesting and easier to read.

[Rhiannon Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be posting my review closer to the December release date.

[Renée · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is my review at Assay: A Journal of Nonfiction Studies:

https://assayjournal.wordpress.com/20...

[L.A. Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thankfully, I feel that I don't need this book anymore.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

You couldn't have a better guide than Jessica Handler. A deep and essential companion for anyone tackling the hard stuff.