Good Grief

by Ngozi Anyanwu

GOOD GRIEF follows Nkechi, or N- a med-school dropout, a first generation Nigerian, a would-be goddess- as she navigates first loves and losses, and tries to find answers in her parents, the boy next door, and the stars.

Genres: Plays, Audiobook, Drama, Grief

80 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Cecilia Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written. Beautifully performed. Looking forward (hoping) to it becoming a production.

[Ryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely Beautiful. The characters are so real you feel as though you’ve known them in your own life or you’d wish you had with their charming personalities. A story of finding oneself though love and loss in a way that’s earnest and entertaining, raw but not heavy, through a perspective that is so rarely represented.

This hardly captures all the nuances and captivating aspects of this play. My parting thoughts: read it. Share it. Talk about it. Read it again.

[Stephanie A-M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cried. I don't know if that was the intended reaction but it is indeed what happened. As a mother who has lost a child and a daughter who has lost a mother I am all too familiar with grief, but this story of friendship and loss was a perspective that I have not previously explored and it broke my heart wide open.

[AudiobookFiend · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story for all of us who have lost someone. Grief is good. It’s necessary to heal.

[Lluvia Almanza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Grief is a beautifully written piece. I received this in my spring book club box. N is a young woman growing up in Philadelphia. Her best friend recently died and she’s learning how to cope with what she’s feeling. The imagery just reading it is gorgeous. The characters are all beautifully written and are sure to provide a welcome challenge to any actor cast in the roles. I hope I can see this live at some point.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was beautifully written, but I don’t think an audiobook was the right medium for it. Maybe it was just me, but because of all the jumps in time, without additional cues, I had a really hard time following the story.

[Liz Thomas-Hollier · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much beauty packed into such a short story!

[Christle Southall · Rating 1 out of 5]

A play that did not translate well in narration.

[Connor Stompanato · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the Audible production of 'Good Grief' and thought it was very well made. It is a play performed by a full cast and every character felt very real and lived in.

The story is about a girl dealing with grief after someone close to her dies. We dip in and out of various points in their history to get a real understanding of their relationship. It was very engaging and well written.

Through the big cast, music and sound design you really felt as though you were getting a real experience listening to this audiobook - highly recommend.

[Juan Rivera · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think one of the most difficult things in the world is to get over the death of a loved one.

Maybe we all know that our parents will be going, and it is still difficult.

But what happens when our partner leaves, when our children leave.

A brief history of the loss at a very young age of his beloved partner: “Good grief” by Ngozi Anyanwi.

By the way short the book, so as not to feel so sad.

[Felicia B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a play about loss and grief. Really interesting way of exploring how we remember and change the past. A realistic mix of the weird moments of light and darkness that come after losing someone.
Only critsism is that I had a hard time telling the voices of Jimmy and MJ apart, but maybe that's just me.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

This works well as a companion read with Transcendent Kingdom. It has the same themes of coping with death but does not much more in the context of a blossoming relationship and relationships in grieving. It, too, is beautifully written as a play and well worth spending time with one afternoon.

[Abeer Hoque · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Grief is a play by Ngozi Anyawu. It was witty, multi-layered, philosophical, modern, funny, sexy, and real. I don't usually read plays but my brother is an actor and reads scripts all the time, and he thought (knew) I'd like a story of a Nigerian immigrant girl in America. Highly recommend.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Nigerian daughter the main character has a lot of stressed "must do" goals she has to reach in life. She followed these life directions - went to Med School - and then things happened and life changed.

[Kefranks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poignant rendering of a young woman's journey through grief after the unexpected death of a very close friend who might have become the love of her life had he lived. Creatively imagined with flashbacks and introspective musings written with sadness and humor.

[Hannah Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the Audible version. This beautiful play took me entirely by surprise, its perspective on grief was just so beautiful and brought a tear to my eye. We have all lost a lot during the last few years but this give me hope for the future.

[Shonda Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d be interested in seeing this on the stage. Overall, it wasn’t bad. I loved being a fly on the wall for two people who grew up together, loved and departed in a way that gets overlooked when two people so close are not married.

Shonda Moore

[Fátima López Sevilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the Audible version, so at the beginning I mixed up a bit the 3 male characters of the brother, the friend, and the crush... but that is more on me than the quality of the production, I think.
Really beautiful, sad, and endearing, all at the same time, in such a short play.

[Allie Goetjen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply put, this was a beautiful play on life, friendship, death, remembrance, and grief. Thank you for sharing this with your readers and listeners.

[Jessica Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! I felt so many emotions. It was real, raw, sweet, funny, sad, happy, peaceful. Short quick read but lots of thinking afterward.

[Floyetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book especially if you have lost a close loved one. On audible the voice acting was amazing

[Nilda McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful tribute to a lost friend!

[Jessica Zu · Rating 3 out of 5]

the story is quite hard to follow ... I don’t know why ...

[It's Me - Yvette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! Adding to favorites shelf!

[Angelika Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

So heartfelt and so good.

[Erin Goettsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a play written for audio reading, and it was a cool format and a lovely story.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story to start the year. No I'm not macabre, it is good to be grateful for what you have..

[Aisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing play about love, loss, and grief. It really makes you stop and appreciate the people who are in your life because you never know when their time will come.

[Sylvie Rochon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very sad, emotional play based on a true story of sa beautiful friendship, a death too young and the grief of the one left behind. It is truly worth your time.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! That was a powerful, engaging, emotional 75 minutes!