I’m grateful for... 📚 great books (Q1 2024)
Some thoughts & recommendations to start your weekend
Thank you for reading Beyond Survival, a publication about life after trauma. Friday posts revolve around gratitude for something that has been enriching my life. Today, we’re talking about books!
I read Leslie Jamison’s ‘Splinters’ in 24 hours. A masterful book which is both boundaried and vulnerable - my favourite combination. I’ve been a fan since reading Jamison’s first book, ‘The Empathy Exams’ which I bought immediately after listening to this conversation. Her work is layered and evocative, pulling together personal material, research, reporting and craft. Of all the divorce conversations happening in the zeitgeist right now, this is the best piece of art created from the ashes of a failed relationship. I loved every second I spent inside it! (Here’s an extract to start with.)
Sarah Polley’s ‘Run towards the Danger’ was a slower burn. It consists of six meticulously crafted essays from different chapters of Polley’s life as a child actor, political activist, mother and Oscar-winning writer/director. The titular essay is about her recovery from a serious concussion, and her mantra (‘Run Towards the Danger’) often echoes through my mind.
I loved how this book challenges society’s accepted truths - like “listen to your body” - and complicates the clichés of modern life. I loved how she wrote about her decision not to come forward during Jian Ghomeshi’s trial for sexual abuse, and how she celebrates the women who did (“she is an emotional giant”). Ultimately, this is a book about conversing with our past selves and finding a way to accommodate the past without being defined by it.
I had a lot of feelings about Grief is for People by Sloane Crosley, primarily sadness at the death (by suicide) of a young man but also discomfort at how she wrote about his behaviour in the workplace and how it made other people (mostly young women) uncomfortable. It triggered lots of difficult feelings about the gay men I’ve known who’ve felt shitty and inflicted their misery on the people around them. The man who died was Crosley’s friend. They shared a biting sense of humour. Reading it, I knew I would have been on the outside of their banter.
Crosley is a funny writer, and this is a funny book which is maybe a weird thing to say about a book about suicide. I was drawn to it, in part, because of my own recent experience with suicide which left me with a strange, shapeless grief. In the end, this book left me with the unsettled feeling that the man it celebrates might not have treated me very well. (An extract)
I read two great short story collections which I’ll talk about together: Personal Velocity by Rebecca Miller and Intimacies by Lucy Caldwell.
Two masterful writers delivering rich, female-centric narratives. Personal Velocity was recommended by
who loved the last story “Paula”. I connected more with the first story “Greta”, but there isn’t a dud in the collection.Caldwell’s collection is quieter, but equally political. She writes about abortion, motherhood, and complicated but stable relationships. I’ll never forget the first story which sent a ripple of terrifying panic through my body.
I also loved ‘Yellowface’ by R. F. Kuang (a fun, biting satire about race in the publishing industry), ‘I Don’t Want to Talk About Home’ by Suad Aldarra (about a Syrian woman who fled her homeland and settled in Ireland) and The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid (about a man whose skin begins to darken overnight).
Recommendations
🙏 Huge thanks to everyone who came to the Spring Session of my Celtic Wheel inspired writing workshop. It was such a pleasure to be in the (virtual) classroom with you. Enrollments for the Summer Session will open in late May.
🍄 If you’re looking for an Easter cooking project, allow me to recommend this Mushroom Wellington. I made it over Christmas and while it was a multi-day project, it was very much worth it.
🎧 I’m working on a longer piece about Dr Christine Blasey Ford’s book, but in the meantime, here’s an interesting conversation she had with Terry Gross.
📺 Have I talked about Mr & Mrs Smith yet? I loved it. Stylish, millennial, funny and not too long. A perfect series!
✍️ I recently invested in a paid subscription to
’s Substack and am so glad I did. Her work is soulful, but strategic. I know her advice will make me a clearer, sharper writer. Here’s a favourite post to get started with: (Heads up that there’s a paywall, but as I said, her wisdom is worth the investment).💕 If this piece resonated with you, please tap the heart below to help spread the word.
💬 In the comments, I’d love to hear about your favourite books of the year! I’m always looking for recommendations, so please add them below.
✍️ Beyond Survival is written by me, Clare Egan, an award-winning writer and journalist. You can read more about me here, or look at some pretty pictures over here. 👋 Click reply to say hello anytime. Thank you for being here!
I'm Personal Velocity's biggest cheerleader I'm so happy you found it!
Thanks for sharing the recommendation. Look forward to checking out some of the books that are "new" to me! I absolutely loved Sarah Polley’s book! I read the audible version and it was a treat to hear her narrating it.