Notes on Grief ★★★★★

Notes on Grief (Click Here To Buy)

★★★★★

Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a nonfiction piece about the time after Adichie’s father passed away.

Checked this book out from the library. I put it on hold the day it was published and have been patiently waiting since May 11th. My dog of 11 years passed away on May 5th and many of Adichie's overwhelming bodily feelings of grief I deeply resonated with.

During the height of the COVID pandemic, Adichie's father suddenly passed away. He was in Nigeria and Adichie was in America with Nigerian airports closed. Forced to grieve without her family, Adichie "becomes undone." Her grief is so raw and honest, it seeps into you as the reader. A short book, less than 100 pages - I read this book in one sitting. In high school I remember reading C.S. Lewis' A Grief Observed and it had a profound effect on me. This book has the same heartbreaking intensity. The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Frances Weller is another book on grief that I have on my TBR. Even though they are difficult to read, I appreciate books about grief because I think they are vital for the individual's process, and it feels significant to witness as a reader.

I somewhat embarrassingly have not read any of Adichie’s other works but I plan to - especially Americanah.

If you liked Notes on Grief, I also recommend A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis, Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner, Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi, and The Beauty in Breaking by Michelle Harper.

Hug each other and happy reading,

Ms.Bjork

P.S. This photo was taken at Mt. Rainier. I have traveled to Mt. Rainier after two significant deaths in my life as a place to grieve and let go, so it felt fitting to bring this book here and to read it with this mountain.