The Bright Hour
By Nina Riggs
- Release Date: 2017-06-06
- Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Description
* INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER *
“Stunning…heartrending…this year’s When Breath Becomes Air.” —Nora Krug, The Washington Post
“Beautiful and haunting.” —Matt McCarthy, MD, USA TODAY
“Deeply affecting…simultaneously heartbreaking and funny.” —People (Book of the Week)
“Vivid, immediate.” —Laura Collins-Hughes, The Boston Globe
Starred reviews from * Kirkus Reviews * Publishers Weekly * Library Journal *
Best Books of 2017 Selection by * The Washington Post *
Most Anticipated Summer Reading Selection by * The Washington Post * Entertainment Weekly * Glamour * The Seattle Times * Vulture * InStyle * Bookpage * Bookriot * Real Simple * The Atlanta Journal-Constitution *
The New York Times bestseller by poet Nina Riggs, mother of two young sons and the direct descendant of Ralph Waldo Emerson, is “a stunning…heart-rending meditation on life…It is this year’s When Breath Becomes Air” (The Washington Post).
We are breathless but we love the days. They are promises. They are the only way to walk from one night to the other.
Poet and essayist Nina Riggs was just thirty-seven years old when initially diagnosed with breast cancer—one small spot. Within a year, she received the devastating news that her cancer was terminal.
How does a dying person learn to live each day “unattached to outcome”? How does one approach the moments, big and small, with both love and honesty? How does a young mother and wife prepare her two young children and adored husband for a loss that will shape the rest of their lives? How do we want to be remembered?
Exploring motherhood, marriage, friendship, and memory, Nina asks: What makes a meaningful life when one has limited time? “Profound and poignant” (O, The Oprah Magazine), The Bright Hour is about how to make the most of all the days, even the painful ones. It’s about the way literature, especially Nina’s direct ancestor, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and her other muse, Montaigne, can be a balm and a form of prayer.
Brilliantly written and exceptionally moving, it’s a “deeply affecting memoir, a simultaneously heartbreaking and funny account of living with loss and the specter of death. As Riggs lyrically, unflinchingly details her reality, she finds beauty and truth that comfort even amid the crushing sadness” (People, Book of the Week).
Tender and heartwarming, The Bright Hour “is a gentle reminder to cherish each day” (Entertainment Weekly, Best New Books) and offers us this important perspective: “You can read a multitude books about how to die, but Riggs, a dying woman, will show you how to live” (The New York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice).
Reviews
Beautiful
5By HhhsjskallPoooiyrdbenemmdkMuch more than a memoir. This book is window into life and our imaginations of what the afterlife holds. It is not sentimental but heartfelt and heartbreaking at the same time.Wonderful rich story about life and death
5By audiodog72This book was a treasure to read. Nina was a funny, intelligent and brave woman. She did a beautiful job of sharing her journey with all of us who are lucky enough to have read this lovely memoir. We will all face our mortality some day. She shows how important it is to face each day with love, determination and a sense of humor.❤️
5By Poop loser 1235609Stunning. Took my breath away.Wordless
5By Icefun1This was one of the most moving books I have ever read. Nina has touched me in a way that no book has. This is a lesson in courage and strength of the human heart. God's speed, my sweet Nina.excellent touching memoir
5By samsohailCan relate to so much of her experience from the lens of a caregiver, friend and daughter who has witnessed cancer and its complicated course for the past few years. Great read for those whose are helping those with terminal illnesses to see the experience from the patients perspective.Tears
5By HenanneI just finished reading and I was hoping it never stopped...The Bright Hour
5By Barbara in MinnesotaI just finished reading this amazing book for the second time. It had a major impact on me bringing forth emotions and feelings of joy, sorrow, celebration of family and overwhelming respect and love for the brilliant woman and author, Nina Riggs.