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What Remains of Elsie Jane
A heartbreaking and darkly funny portrait of a woman unravelling in the wake of tragedy.
Sam is dead, which means that Elsie Jane has just lost the brilliant, sensitive man she planned to grow old with. The early days of grief are a fog of work and single parenting. Too restless to sleep, Elsie pores over Sam’s old love letters, paces her house, bickers with the ghosts of Sam and her dead parents night after night. As the year unfolds, she develops an obsession with a local murder mystery, attends a series of disastrous internet dates in search of a “replacement soul mate,” and solicits a spacetime wizard via Craigslist, convinced he will help her forge a path through the cosmos back to Sam.
Examining the ceaseless labour of motherhood, the stigma of death by drug poisoning, and the allure of magical thinking in the wake of tragedy, What Remains of Elsie Jane is a heart-splitting reminder that grief is borne from the depths of love.
Sam is dead, which means that Elsie Jane has just lost the brilliant, sensitive man she planned to grow old with. The early days of grief are a fog of work and single parenting. Too restless to sleep, Elsie pores over Sam’s old love letters, paces her house, bickers with the ghosts of Sam and her dead parents night after night. As the year unfolds, she develops an obsession with a local murder mystery, attends a series of disastrous internet dates in search of a “replacement soul mate,” and solicits a spacetime wizard via Craigslist, convinced he will help her forge a path through the cosmos back to Sam.
Examining the ceaseless labour of motherhood, the stigma of death by drug poisoning, and the allure of magical thinking in the wake of tragedy, What Remains of Elsie Jane is a heart-splitting reminder that grief is borne from the depths of love.
264 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 28, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
January 19, 2023
What Remains Of Elsie Jane is the first novel by Canadian musician and author, Chelsea Wakelyn. When her partner of five years, Sam Sorensen dies unexpectedly, Elsie Jane is left behind with her daughter and their toddler son, to negotiate life without him.
Elsie Jane takes the reader along on her very personal journey through grief and loss. It’s a journey that starts at the funeral home and continues through the difficult year that follows. As well as a narrative that sometimes reads a little like a stream of consciousness, there are past emails and texts between Sam and Elsie Jane, and comments or asides from her own mirror reflection and her dead mother.
It's a candid, warts-and-all account, and Elsie Jane doesn’t omit detail that may paint her in a less-than-favourable light. Her affair with an acquaintance, and messages from the dating apps she uses to try to find a “replacement soulmate” demonstrate her state of mind.
“I wonder when it will end, the intensity of the bitterness. It’s exhausting being mad all the time. I’m exhausted. Will I wake up one day and find it has evaporated in my sleep, that I am suddenly capable of empathy and joy, that I forgive everything and am overwhelmed by compassion and gratitude and goodwill toward my fellow creatures? If so, what can I do to get to that place quicker?” Typical signs of grief: insomnia and fatigue (that ultimately require stress leave), loneliness, boredom, heartbreak and unrequited lust are all described.
And then things get bizarre when Elsie Jane fixates on the death of an unidentified woman found in the woods behind the cinema on the day Sam died. Her delusion about being able to alter the past culminates in many Craigslist posts to find a wizard who can help her cross the space/time continuum, to escape: “this hellscape of grief.”
Elsie Jane’s children barely get a mention, and it somewhat beggars belief that she was able to function as a mother and do her job during the depths of such grief. Perhaps that all sounds rather bleak, but there are also quite a lot of blackly funny moments, the first of which must be the search in Walmart for a receptacle for Sam’s ashes. And the story ends in a positive place. A very different read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Dundurn Press/Rare Machines.
Elsie Jane takes the reader along on her very personal journey through grief and loss. It’s a journey that starts at the funeral home and continues through the difficult year that follows. As well as a narrative that sometimes reads a little like a stream of consciousness, there are past emails and texts between Sam and Elsie Jane, and comments or asides from her own mirror reflection and her dead mother.
It's a candid, warts-and-all account, and Elsie Jane doesn’t omit detail that may paint her in a less-than-favourable light. Her affair with an acquaintance, and messages from the dating apps she uses to try to find a “replacement soulmate” demonstrate her state of mind.
“I wonder when it will end, the intensity of the bitterness. It’s exhausting being mad all the time. I’m exhausted. Will I wake up one day and find it has evaporated in my sleep, that I am suddenly capable of empathy and joy, that I forgive everything and am overwhelmed by compassion and gratitude and goodwill toward my fellow creatures? If so, what can I do to get to that place quicker?” Typical signs of grief: insomnia and fatigue (that ultimately require stress leave), loneliness, boredom, heartbreak and unrequited lust are all described.
And then things get bizarre when Elsie Jane fixates on the death of an unidentified woman found in the woods behind the cinema on the day Sam died. Her delusion about being able to alter the past culminates in many Craigslist posts to find a wizard who can help her cross the space/time continuum, to escape: “this hellscape of grief.”
Elsie Jane’s children barely get a mention, and it somewhat beggars belief that she was able to function as a mother and do her job during the depths of such grief. Perhaps that all sounds rather bleak, but there are also quite a lot of blackly funny moments, the first of which must be the search in Walmart for a receptacle for Sam’s ashes. And the story ends in a positive place. A very different read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Dundurn Press/Rare Machines.
October 9, 2022
This debut novel is perfectly bingeable! You can read it in one sitting, but be prepared for:
-a lot of weirdly funny scenes of a woman’s breakdown after she loses her partner to drug poisoning
-an honest and raw look at what grief looks like
-a long descent to rock bottom, with a glimmer of hope at the end
This is definitely a debut I’ll be thinking about for a long time! I’m excited to see where Chelsea’s writing career takes her from here !
-a lot of weirdly funny scenes of a woman’s breakdown after she loses her partner to drug poisoning
-an honest and raw look at what grief looks like
-a long descent to rock bottom, with a glimmer of hope at the end
This is definitely a debut I’ll be thinking about for a long time! I’m excited to see where Chelsea’s writing career takes her from here !
January 6, 2024
Elsie's husband dies unexpectedly. It causes her to become unhinged and, due to a temporary lack of judgement, do some pretty stupid things. Her employer suggests she take a compassionate leave. Good thing because, while off work, she ignores her personal hygiene, and her kids—aged 2 and 11. General hilarity ensues until about one year post-death, when she notices she's starting to feel better and life no longer looks quite so hopeless. And before the book ends, she's met someone new, thanks to one of those incredibly stupid things she did. We're left wondering where it might go.
It was a fun read, for sure, but nothing spectacular. I'd been in a bit of a slump, in that I just couldn't decide what to read. NOTHING felt right, so I picked this up for some reason, and just started reading. It was good enough to hold my attention, but I think that's because I read online that the story in the book matches the author's real-life story fairly closely. For that reason, alone, I kept reading.
It was a worthwhile read, but certainly no literary achievement. You know.😐
3 stars = "liked it"
It was a fun read, for sure, but nothing spectacular. I'd been in a bit of a slump, in that I just couldn't decide what to read. NOTHING felt right, so I picked this up for some reason, and just started reading. It was good enough to hold my attention, but I think that's because I read online that the story in the book matches the author's real-life story fairly closely. For that reason, alone, I kept reading.
It was a worthwhile read, but certainly no literary achievement. You know.😐
3 stars = "liked it"
January 24, 2023
I love a local book and I absolutely loved the BC setting in WHAT REMAINS OF ELSIE JANE by Chelsea Wakelyn! I loved this novel! It’s about a woman, Elsie Jane, who is dealing with deep grief at the sudden loss of her husband. I found this such a roller coaster of emotions! There’s sadness, heartbreak, depression, anger, and boundless love. I loved the touches of humour throughout. It really showcased how grief can be felt in so many different ways. Elsie Jane had such a distinctive narrative voice that it was so easy to get lost in this book. A spectacular debut!
Thank you to Dundurn Press for my gifted review copy!
Thank you to Dundurn Press for my gifted review copy!
July 14, 2022
I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy as a very small amount of my writing appears in the novel. I couldn't put it down and ended up finishing it in one night; something that hasn't happened for me in years. "What Remains of Elsie Jane" is an exceptionally well written, thought provoking and touching story that lingered in my mind for days after reading and indeed pops up in my thoughts still now, months later.
Please buy and read this book.
Please buy and read this book.
December 5, 2022
This one was a look at a woman who is unraveling after losing her partner to drug poisoning. The way this author handled the topic of grief was very unique but so real. Grief is different for everyone, and for Elsie Jane…she seems like she's losing her mind. Yes, this was weird…BUT I really enjoyed this. I'm always intrigued by books about grief, and I loved reading Elsie Jane's inner thoughts and how she was managing her feelings. I do like how at the end, there is some hope for her. Losing a loved one, which is so heartbreaking and soul crushing, there is always a way to heal…or at least a way to accept it and find a sense of normalcy and happiness again, I really enjoyed this one and would definitely be pick up future books by this author.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own. Out February 28.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own. Out February 28.
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August 8, 2025I don’t think I can give this a rating because I can’t decide if it’s brilliant or actually terrible. It’s blurbed by Emily R Austin and has the ingredients of what I love in her books: a flawed protagonist that doesn’t seem to fit in with the social templates.
In this case, much of the focus is on grief and dealing with the loss of your life partner. We see Elsie Jane carry on after Sam dies but then also unravel in different ways, at work, with her children, going on dating apps and increasingly unsuccessful dates with cringey or completely unremarkable men. We also see flashbacks to her life with Sam and how it had many wonderful but also awful, horrible moments.
But something about the unraveling and the humor struck me as off, like there’s no way this could be a real person reacting this way, and there was far too much darkness in the humor for me to actually find it funny.
There is a speculative slant which I really enjoyed and even found touching by the end, but it didn’t quite make up for all the time spent despairing for this deeply lost main character.
In this case, much of the focus is on grief and dealing with the loss of your life partner. We see Elsie Jane carry on after Sam dies but then also unravel in different ways, at work, with her children, going on dating apps and increasingly unsuccessful dates with cringey or completely unremarkable men. We also see flashbacks to her life with Sam and how it had many wonderful but also awful, horrible moments.
But something about the unraveling and the humor struck me as off, like there’s no way this could be a real person reacting this way, and there was far too much darkness in the humor for me to actually find it funny.
There is a speculative slant which I really enjoyed and even found touching by the end, but it didn’t quite make up for all the time spent despairing for this deeply lost main character.
March 11, 2025
I enjoyed this for a lot of reasons but at least partly because I feel better knowing I am not the only person to marry/ have children with an addict and suffer some awful consequences because of it. I loved all the place names since this was set in my hometown and I recognized them all. But this also meant that I am wondering why my experience of the Victoria dating pool never yielded a single man who writes letters, let alone has graduate level education.
January 30, 2023
Elsie Jane is mourning the death of her partner to drug poisoning. She’s trying desperately to grieve and mourn but is also now a single parent with a 9-5 job so she is understandably stretched and struggling. I couldn’t put this book down and adored the honest way Wakelyn writes about grief. This isn’t an inspiring, brave recount of counselling and journaling and making the best out of a terrible situation. This is a heart-breaking, but funny and oh so honest story of a woman trying to survive. Wakelyn clearly understands grief. Elsie makes her way through all the typical reactions, but also we see her deal with irrational fears, magical thinking and many attempts to fill the void left by her partner. You might be thinking – well this all sounds terrible – and it often is, but mostly it’s darkly funny, often weird, filled with so much love and ends with a nugget of hope.
I love this book. I will say that there’s good books and then there’s good books that are also strike a chord. I’m drawn to books about grief and find them comforting. Here’s the story of someone who loved hard and grieved hard and is now changed but mostly ok. If you think you’d take comfort in such a story then this is the book for you.
I love this book. I will say that there’s good books and then there’s good books that are also strike a chord. I’m drawn to books about grief and find them comforting. Here’s the story of someone who loved hard and grieved hard and is now changed but mostly ok. If you think you’d take comfort in such a story then this is the book for you.
February 18, 2023
Elsie explains what it's like to be in love with Sam as he descends into addiction: “The addiction is a plagiarist, and the addicted person’s brain and personality are slowly, slowly, slowly overwritten with a new narrative but in the same pen.”
He died. Over the course of a year, Elsie sifts through memories and letters from her husband, excavates the dark corners of her grief, searches for a “replacement soulmate” (or perhaps punishes herself with doomed dates), and concocts an unlikely plan to save her dead love because she cannot find a way to be at home in this timeline.
Elsie is undoubtedly shattered and flailing, but she remains intellectually curious and darkly witty about her own disintegration, and the nature of grief: “At its core, grief is a very self-involved and childish way of being in the world. There must be a reason we regress to this childlike state. It must offer some protection, some comfort, even if it feels like being left alone in a crib for three days with an evil clown stuffy grinning at you from the dresser.”
Elsie prepares in earnest to quantum-jump to a dimension where she’s able to save Sam, aided by a wizard who answered her Craigslist ad. And it often seems as though she’s right to want to find a better timeline, not only to retrieve what she’s lost, but also because this world is a fully unsuitable place to try to recover from a crisis.
There’s an uncanny otherness about her encounters, farcical and hostile. She receives threatening messages from a bad date who has “all the hallmark characteristics of a super-villain but none of the power or charisma.” He feels entitled to her attention and is completely oblivious to what she wants or needs. An angry mob in a fast food restaurant yell at her and her children over some invented drama. Have they decided she deserves their wrath simply because she appears unkempt and unwell?
I recognize vignettes like this as commonplace, and that’s why it feels like horror. It’s a reminder that this is not a hospitable world for people who are adrift in a crisis. The more in need of compassion and support a person is (like those who are wrestling with addiction or with grief), the more likely they are to be further alienated and stigmatized by the people all around them.
I am grateful for a candid story about losing a partner due to addiction, which stirs up undigested chunks in my guts that I haven’t known how to express, a bunch of square peg feelings that won’t go through the round holes of reason into language. Elsie is depicted so clearly in her absurd state of loss, a powerful feat which resonates with shards of unspoken loss that live in me. I needed this book, and maybe you do, too.
“To have great pain is to have certainty; to hear that another person has pain is to have doubt.” – Elaine Scarry
He died. Over the course of a year, Elsie sifts through memories and letters from her husband, excavates the dark corners of her grief, searches for a “replacement soulmate” (or perhaps punishes herself with doomed dates), and concocts an unlikely plan to save her dead love because she cannot find a way to be at home in this timeline.
Elsie is undoubtedly shattered and flailing, but she remains intellectually curious and darkly witty about her own disintegration, and the nature of grief: “At its core, grief is a very self-involved and childish way of being in the world. There must be a reason we regress to this childlike state. It must offer some protection, some comfort, even if it feels like being left alone in a crib for three days with an evil clown stuffy grinning at you from the dresser.”
Elsie prepares in earnest to quantum-jump to a dimension where she’s able to save Sam, aided by a wizard who answered her Craigslist ad. And it often seems as though she’s right to want to find a better timeline, not only to retrieve what she’s lost, but also because this world is a fully unsuitable place to try to recover from a crisis.
There’s an uncanny otherness about her encounters, farcical and hostile. She receives threatening messages from a bad date who has “all the hallmark characteristics of a super-villain but none of the power or charisma.” He feels entitled to her attention and is completely oblivious to what she wants or needs. An angry mob in a fast food restaurant yell at her and her children over some invented drama. Have they decided she deserves their wrath simply because she appears unkempt and unwell?
I recognize vignettes like this as commonplace, and that’s why it feels like horror. It’s a reminder that this is not a hospitable world for people who are adrift in a crisis. The more in need of compassion and support a person is (like those who are wrestling with addiction or with grief), the more likely they are to be further alienated and stigmatized by the people all around them.
I am grateful for a candid story about losing a partner due to addiction, which stirs up undigested chunks in my guts that I haven’t known how to express, a bunch of square peg feelings that won’t go through the round holes of reason into language. Elsie is depicted so clearly in her absurd state of loss, a powerful feat which resonates with shards of unspoken loss that live in me. I needed this book, and maybe you do, too.
“To have great pain is to have certainty; to hear that another person has pain is to have doubt.” – Elaine Scarry
January 9, 2023
Highly recommend to anyone looking for a book that will make you laugh and cry. This book follows the life of Elsie after she loses her love to drug poisoning, having become a newly single mother navigating her way through this as well as experiencing a tremendous amount of grief. This book is devastating and beautifully messy, and I would love more books by this author in the future.
Want to read
October 21, 2023Saw the author at Smell's Like 90's Lyrics Night and absolutely loved her smash up of The Cranberries Zombie and Raffi's Bananaphone. She has such an amazingly weird energy and that's all I need to go pick up someone's book.
January 31, 2023
I loved this book so very much. Such a refreshingly real and honest look at grief and passionate love and motherhood. I couldn’t put it down. Read it in a day and a half. Laughed out loud often, shed delicate tears, made my partner stop everything to listen to particularly poignant or deliciously vulgar lines, and finished the last page sobbing in my reading chair, feeling hopeful and heartbroken for Elsie Jane. This is an unabashed telling of a tale that will rock you to your core. Read this book.
April 25, 2023
As a grief therapist and general weirdo, this novel hit all the right marks from me. Chelsea Wakelyn does an excellent job of portraying the grief process from the inside out - the emotional roller coaster of it all, the attempts to connect the dots after being “left behind”, the magical thinking, ALL of it.
Elsie Jane is an objectively messy and difficult-to-like protagonist at times, but that’s 100% the point. I absolutely adored this weird little book. It has humor and heartbreak and introspection that left me wanting to follow Elsie’s story further than the novel allows.
Elsie Jane is an objectively messy and difficult-to-like protagonist at times, but that’s 100% the point. I absolutely adored this weird little book. It has humor and heartbreak and introspection that left me wanting to follow Elsie’s story further than the novel allows.
February 19, 2023
Devoured this book in under 24 hours, absolutely captivated by the devastatingly raw and darkly hilarious voice of the main character. I was instantly hooked and couldn’t put it down. Despite the tragic nature of the subject matter, the sentences take these amazing twists that smash your heart to pulp and then make you spit out your tea. It’s been a long time since a book actually made me laugh out loud. A truly incredible first novel. I can’t wait to read whatever she writes next. In the meantime, Elsie Jane will stay with me for a very long time. 11/10.
March 30, 2023
This was sad and funny and weird and Elsie Jane is a bit unhinged!! But we don't blame her. Or judge her. She is grieving the death of her husband Sam, and grief makes people do odd things. Like putting out an ad for a wizard to take you back in time. This takes place in BC, is the authors debut, and I devoured it. 4.5/5
February 11, 2023
What Remains of Elsie Jane was a trip in a good way. It was very real and raw and often quite funny in a dark way. I really like the narrative that someone can be both magic and an alcoholic. I have experience with loving someone like that myself. A story about the slow and complicated timeline of grief.
September 16, 2025
I went to work to find out I'm not scheduled today and Kate gave me this book that her friend wrote on which Emily Austin wrote the blurb so I goaled to one-day this and I did, yay
Love a hot mess + the worst part was the discord mod guy, Lord -- oh I wrote this before realizing this isn't even over there is more discord more guy content oh Lord HE USED THE WORD FEMOID
February 18, 2023
A chaotic story of grief and finding yourself still standing after everything has collapsed around you. I stood at the stove stirring spaghetti sauce and bawled while I finished it. What more could you want?
January 22, 2023
Beautiful novel :)
January 6, 2023
Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What Remains of Elsie Jane is a poignant, funny and heartfelt read that you can easily get through in a single day (like I did)! It deals with heavy subject matter like addiction, loss and grief but does so in such a lighthearted way that you are not weighed down by the significance of what the main character, Elsie, is going through. This book is an exploration of what would happen if you were to grieve wholly and fully, without trying to hold yourself together and perform according to the societal expectations of what a grieving woman, a mother, should look like. Over the course of the novel, we see Elsie Jane gradually fall to pieces and, arguably, lose her mind...and then (almost accidentally) stitch herself back together again. Ultimately, this book leaves you with a feeling of hope, that despite what the world might throw at us there are always ways to keep going, and happiness will always find a way to seep back into your life.
What Remains of Elsie Jane is a poignant, funny and heartfelt read that you can easily get through in a single day (like I did)! It deals with heavy subject matter like addiction, loss and grief but does so in such a lighthearted way that you are not weighed down by the significance of what the main character, Elsie, is going through. This book is an exploration of what would happen if you were to grieve wholly and fully, without trying to hold yourself together and perform according to the societal expectations of what a grieving woman, a mother, should look like. Over the course of the novel, we see Elsie Jane gradually fall to pieces and, arguably, lose her mind...and then (almost accidentally) stitch herself back together again. Ultimately, this book leaves you with a feeling of hope, that despite what the world might throw at us there are always ways to keep going, and happiness will always find a way to seep back into your life.
February 27, 2023
Such a beautiful book. Both devastating and hilarious, and written with such poetry. I was left with a book "hangover" after reading - it was hard to start anything else for a day or two, because I was still living in the story and not wanting it to end
January 21, 2023
I don’t usually like sad books, and yet this one became a fast favorite! It’s the writing. It’s just so good. Like being a fly on the wall of her mind. Elsey Jane is a widow grieving the loss of her partner who died of drug poisoning. Her actions and thoughts—often bizarre, delusional, and reckless—are sometimes incongruous with the expectations of someone grieving. At other times the agony and suffering and consumption she experiences are completely spot on of what we’d expect. This book is so absurd at times, I laughed, cringed, and tearing up all within minutes. It’s a beautifully written, complicated, intimate story that’s as weird as it is honest—just as grief often is. I highly recommend!
February 10, 2023
|| WHAT REMAINS OF ELSIE JANE ||
#gifted/@dundurnpress
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✍🏻
A darkly funny, heartbreaking portrayal of grief and motherhood following tragedy.
From the first few pages I was pulled into this story. Elsie Jane's deep grief was so real and relatable. I could feel it burning through the pages. Her aching, confusion, and need. Wakelyn's writing was funny and poignant throughout. I loved how she told this story too, giving us looks into Sam and Elsie's relationship past and the wonderful love they had for each other while we also watch Elsie process in real time. And I always enjoy a Canadian setting. This was a wonderful portrait of how we can fall to pieces and be able to puzzle ourselves back together again.
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For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong
#gifted/@dundurnpress
•
✍🏻
A darkly funny, heartbreaking portrayal of grief and motherhood following tragedy.
From the first few pages I was pulled into this story. Elsie Jane's deep grief was so real and relatable. I could feel it burning through the pages. Her aching, confusion, and need. Wakelyn's writing was funny and poignant throughout. I loved how she told this story too, giving us looks into Sam and Elsie's relationship past and the wonderful love they had for each other while we also watch Elsie process in real time. And I always enjoy a Canadian setting. This was a wonderful portrait of how we can fall to pieces and be able to puzzle ourselves back together again.
•
For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong
February 23, 2023
Wow! The writing in this book is amazing! You can't help but completely feel for Elsie Jane as she falls completely apart after the loss of her partner, Sam. Throughout the book, Elsie Jane uses humor and sarcasm to cover up her pain and depression. I couldn't stop myself from relating to Elsie Jane and see myself behaving in the same manner if I were in the same position, including hearing criticism from my deceased mother. There have been several books published recently that have focused on how people mourn the loss of a loved one. It is a difficult space to truly master and I believe this book is one of them!
Thanks to NetGalley and Dundum Press for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dundum Press for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
July 7, 2022
Unimaginably real fiction. I got an advance copy and it is an emotional roller-coaster that touches too close for comfort, but it is comfortably touching nonetheless to know that grief is not a solitary activity. It is a reality of life. Even a life of fiction.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2023
An engaging and surprising first novel set in Victoria, BC.
Elsie Jane's partner, Sam, has died suddenly in his early 40s, and in this funny, heartbreaking, and sometimes surreal novel she is trying to figure out ways to cope with the loss. First she looks for comfort in a new romantic relationship while taking long bathroom breaks at work. to cry. She cares for her toddler and her older daughter from a previous relationship on automatic pilot, berating herself for serving them frozen meals and takeout, but unable to cope with cooking without burning pots.
And she reflects on the series of losses that has defined her life, struggling to make meaning of an existence she no longer finds tolerable.
The fresh first-person narration veers between sentimental memories and Elsie's angrier and more distraught moments. The nature of Sam's death complicates her traumatic grief, and this is an important exploration of losing someone to addiction.
Looking forward to seeing more from Chelsea Wakelyn, and hoping this book gets the attention it deserves.
Elsie Jane's partner, Sam, has died suddenly in his early 40s, and in this funny, heartbreaking, and sometimes surreal novel she is trying to figure out ways to cope with the loss. First she looks for comfort in a new romantic relationship while taking long bathroom breaks at work. to cry. She cares for her toddler and her older daughter from a previous relationship on automatic pilot, berating herself for serving them frozen meals and takeout, but unable to cope with cooking without burning pots.
And she reflects on the series of losses that has defined her life, struggling to make meaning of an existence she no longer finds tolerable.
The fresh first-person narration veers between sentimental memories and Elsie's angrier and more distraught moments. The nature of Sam's death complicates her traumatic grief, and this is an important exploration of losing someone to addiction.
Looking forward to seeing more from Chelsea Wakelyn, and hoping this book gets the attention it deserves.
December 13, 2022
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The setting: "...portrait of a woman unravelling" in the wake of her partner's death [and the father of one of her children]. "... Elsie pores over Sam’s old love letters [emails], paces her house, and bickers with the ghosts of Sam and her dead parents night after night. As the year unfolds, she develops an obsession with a local murder mystery, attends a series of disastrous internet dates in search of a “replacement soulmate,” and solicits a space-time wizard via Craigslist, convinced he will help her forge a path through the cosmos back to Sam."
Add in the recollections of and interactions with her grandmother, Ada May--a somewhat different tone--and which I liked.
Now a single parent, Elsie is unravelling. Her grief is palpable and her sense of loss is real. She also has lost her sense of reality. Grief overwhelms Elsie and the book, though there is a bit of humor. To wit: "My son is oblivious, happily crunching his chemical apple slices."
This book is original. Perhaps the subject/topic is what wouldn't let me abandon myself in the read.
Certainly a cathartic piece for the author--who based the novel on her experience of losing her partner to a drug overdose and parenting through the grief and stigma. Be sure to read the beginning notes.
No spoiler from me, but I quite enjoyed the last part of the novel and her interaction with Paul/Ion.
The setting: "...portrait of a woman unravelling" in the wake of her partner's death [and the father of one of her children]. "... Elsie pores over Sam’s old love letters [emails], paces her house, and bickers with the ghosts of Sam and her dead parents night after night. As the year unfolds, she develops an obsession with a local murder mystery, attends a series of disastrous internet dates in search of a “replacement soulmate,” and solicits a space-time wizard via Craigslist, convinced he will help her forge a path through the cosmos back to Sam."
Add in the recollections of and interactions with her grandmother, Ada May--a somewhat different tone--and which I liked.
Now a single parent, Elsie is unravelling. Her grief is palpable and her sense of loss is real. She also has lost her sense of reality. Grief overwhelms Elsie and the book, though there is a bit of humor. To wit: "My son is oblivious, happily crunching his chemical apple slices."
This book is original. Perhaps the subject/topic is what wouldn't let me abandon myself in the read.
Certainly a cathartic piece for the author--who based the novel on her experience of losing her partner to a drug overdose and parenting through the grief and stigma. Be sure to read the beginning notes.
No spoiler from me, but I quite enjoyed the last part of the novel and her interaction with Paul/Ion.
February 18, 2023
This book is really powerfully emotional in a way that I found both extremely charming and easy to connect to. The narrator, Elsie Jane, has a realistic and very funny POV - often while I was sobbing for her I'd let out an actual out-loud bark laugh.
Expect this to be more of an abstract story based on thoughts, feelings and experiences, as it's not overly descriptive of environment or even other people. Instead we are given this crystal clear image of who Elsie Jane is, how she loves and why she loves anyone, particularly her tragically deceased partner. It's often poetic, often funny, always gut-punchingly sad and deeply touching.
Every story of grief is somehow wholly unique yet the same as everyone else's.. and Elsie Jane has completely nailed the unique part.
Expect this to be more of an abstract story based on thoughts, feelings and experiences, as it's not overly descriptive of environment or even other people. Instead we are given this crystal clear image of who Elsie Jane is, how she loves and why she loves anyone, particularly her tragically deceased partner. It's often poetic, often funny, always gut-punchingly sad and deeply touching.
Every story of grief is somehow wholly unique yet the same as everyone else's.. and Elsie Jane has completely nailed the unique part.
February 21, 2023
A beautifully weird, hauntingly relatable book about grief and the way sudden loss shakes you to your core. I could not put this book down, and finished it in one breathless sitting.
Chelsea's writing captures the sense of otherness we feel in a state of grief. Here, the experience of trying to navigate the mundanities of life are rendered Lynchian through Elsie's often humorously grim observations.
Read this book. You will not regret it.
Chelsea's writing captures the sense of otherness we feel in a state of grief. Here, the experience of trying to navigate the mundanities of life are rendered Lynchian through Elsie's often humorously grim observations.
Read this book. You will not regret it.
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