Update!! Half In Love Giveaway Contest!!
In celebration of the paperback release of Half In Love (Counterpoint/January 2012), Linda Gray Sexton will be sponsoring a giveaway contest of ten books. Starting Monday, December 5th, out of the first thirty people who join the reader board on her website (http://lindagraysexton.com/
For questions or more info, please email julia@juliadrakepr.com
Half in Love: Surviving the Legacy of Suicide
Release date: 2011 / 315 pages
Synopsis (from the back cover): After the agony of witnessing her mother’s multiple — and ultimately successful — suicide attempts, Linda Gray Sexton, daughter of the acclaimed poet Anne Sexton, struggles with an engulfing undertow of depression. Here, with powerful, unsparing prose, Sexton conveys her urgent need to escape the legacy of suicide that consumed her family — a topic rarely explored, even today, in such poignant depth.
First Sentence: Sometimes, even my bones resonate with the melodies of my childhood.
Review: Although I am now glad I accepted this memoir for review, when it arrived I had trepidations. I do love poetry and had taught Anne Sexton’s work to countless high schoolers through the years; but I am not usually drawn to the personal aspects of the life of a writer – or of anyone famous. Also, I only understand depression in a clinical sense. I have known few people who struggled with this complex disease; while I truly sympathize, I cannot actually empathize.
So, when I began to read Half in Love, I wasn’t sure what to expect or how I would react. Fortunately, Sexton is an engrossing, fluid, honest writer and discusses her journey with insight and sensitivity. I felt a host of emotions throughout the memoir – not all of them benevolent – but I could sense that this was a hero(ine)’s story throughout, one in which the “descent into darkness” dominated and nearly extinguished the entire journey. I’m amazed at how often our lives follow this classic archetypal pattern – if we’re lucky – and Sexton manages to breathe life (!) into this framework and give it renewed meaning.
Here is a sample of her prose, which exemplify her talent and unique struggle:
“Unconsciously, my mother had bequeathed to me two entirely unique legacies, and they were inextricably and mysteriously entwined: the compulsion to create with words, as well as the compulsion to stare down into the abyss of suicide.”
“Most children don’t worry about their parent’s death the way I did. This, too, was part of the legacy she left: to worry, to want to protect, to wonder how I’d survive if she succeeded in killing herself… the possibility of her death lived in every breath I took.”
“My mother’s legacy of suicide solidified inside me like rebar under concrete – strong and yet concealed to those around me – and I no longer resisted it.”
I do think this memoir would be particularly well-suited to a book club. Even if no one in your club has been affected by suicide, questions regarding parenting, relationships, mental health, creativity, perseverance, compassion and many other fascinating, universal topics would spark great discussion.
Interested in winning a free copy? Drop me a comment below and I will choose a lucky winner by the weekend!
Here are a few other perspectives on this memoir:
Monday, January 17th: Savvy Verse and Wit
Tuesday, January 18th: Life in Review
Wednesday, January 19th: Regular Rumination
Thursday, January 20th: Book Club Classics!
Monday, January 24th: Necromancy Never Pays
Tuesday, January 25th: Colloquium
Wednesday, January 26th: She is Too Fond of Books – Guest Post
Friday, January 28th: Rundpinne
Monday, January 30th: Boarding in My Forties
Wednesday, February 2nd: The Bookworm
Wednesday, February 9th: In the Next Room
Friday, February 11th: Stuff as Dreams are Made On
Tuesday, February 15th: Red Headed Book Child
Wednesday, February 16th: Suko’s Notebook
Thursday, February 17th: She Reads and Reads
I would like to win a copy of this book. I have had a family member commit suicide after dealing with a debilitating mental illness. My husband and I were caretakers of him, in part, over his last years (which we did not know were going to be his last years). What a horrendous time it was and continues to be as I live with so many touching memories of my beloved brother. He was an unusual patient in that he was so ‘other oriented’; not common among someone with a mental illness. He was actually quite a dear, he was an artist and the meds he needed to take, eliminated all possibility of continuing his craft. All that being said, I’d be interested in this book.
I would love to win this book! As someone who has struggled with depression, I’m fascinated with reading how others deal with it in friends, family, and themselves.
This looks like a beautifully written, albeit sad book. I am very interested in reading it as I love Sexton’s poems and always wondered about her family life….
Great review.
I agree this would be quite different for my book club but I think it would be a great discussion! Please enter me, thanks.
Love it, want it, gotta have it! Please include me in this fabulous book giveaway…
-Renee
I am very intrigued by this book. Please enter my name for a chance to win this book. Thank you.
I think this would be a great read even if you haven’t personally be impacted by suicide because it helps break some of the silence about the issue.
strandedhero(at)gmail(dot)com
I would love to read this because I’m always looking for new books for my book club to read and discuss.
Sure! Interesting title for a book of this subject matter, isn’t it? I’d like to read it.
I love how you listed the many different themes and topics a book club could find to discuss here. Thanks so much for reviewing it and being on the tour!
This looks like a very interesting book and I usually enjoy memoirs especially. Thanks for offering the book.
I come from a family with a history of depressive tendencies. My cousin committed suicide leaving a small son who suffered a tragic life and was killed when he was 19. I had suicidal thoughts for many years but because I am the mother of 3 sons and having seen the affect of my cousin’s suicide on her son and my family, I sought help for my depression. This book speaks to me because I have witnessed the affects of mental illness first-hand.
I’d love to give it a try – please include me. Thanks!
This sounds like an interesting book. Please include me.
nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net
sounds like a fascinating book. Great for book club, too
I would love to give this book to a friend of mine. She is a psychiatrist and likes to find books that may help her patients.
Sounds like a great book. Would love to read and pass it to others. would be a good book for a book discussion