Michaela

by Gabriella Burman

Michaela tells the tragic story of a mother devastated by the loss of her young child, and does so with strength and clarity. The author never lets her readers forget the overwhelming loss that has shaped her, that continues to shape her, and she doesn’t let herself get away with any fatuous platitudes or easy answers. We are left with the example of endurance, and endurance assumes its own rough nobility. — Keith Taylor

48 pages, Paperback

First published May 27, 2015

Reviews

[Ksenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gabriella Burman’s writing strikes you to the very core – it’s honest, heartbreaking and passionate at the same time. Her sorrow touches the reader intimately because at its heart this is a story of love and what happens when the person Burman loves so dearly – her beautiful young daughter Michaela – dies unexpectedly. There is so much to admire and learn from Burman’s essays. Life deals inexplicable losses every day and the death of a child is the very worst of losses. Burman pulls no punches when writing about the impact of her child’s loss on every aspect of her and her family’s lives, but in the midst of overwhelming grief, the message she sends is one of resilience. In the beginning, she must go on for the sake of her other daughters if nothing else. By writing this book, Burman’s other daughters get to know the sister they lost all too soon. In my case, these essays gave me insight about what my own grandmother endured when she lost three of her five children – two as toddlers. I found myself thinking more and more about her as I read the essays. This is a touching and powerful book of essays – highly recommended for all.

[Antonina Strazimiri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gabriella Burman's work, Michaela, pulls the reader in with her honest and lyrical reactions to deceptively ordinary details: a gardener named Doug, a Sabbath ritual, pink or blue pajamas. Each brief chapter makes the pages fly. I read this in one sitting and my emotions fluctuated between anxiety, happiness, sadness, and humor.