May 2015

Elizabeth Alexander --- the celebrated poet invited to speak at President Obama’s 2009 inauguration --- has released her first memoir, THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. In 2012, Elizabeth found herself at a crossroads after the sudden loss of her husband, Ficre, who was an artist, a chef, and a loving husband and father. Here, she combines her beautiful use of language into rich prose to convey the story of her love and loss. As she reflects on the beauty of her married life, the sudden trauma of losing her husband and the strength she found in caring for her sons, she realizes it is possible to find meaning in loss.

I read this book in an evening in late October and was completely captivated by the honesty of her writing, as well as the way she looks at the subject of the raw wound of losing a loved one and how to heal from it. The one thing I clearly see is that the loss of a spouse means the loss of someone to do nothing with. We all can find someone to do something with. But as you build a life with someone, it becomes the sharing of a myriad of little things --- the routines that build the rhythm of your world. And when they are tugged away, your world goes off its axis and needs to be realigned. Elizabeth brilliantly describes the loss of smells and other sensory things, which are lost along with the person.

Grief is built on many memories both big and small, and Elizabeth captures how they ebb and flow. I love how she talks about preserving Ficre's life and honoring him...and working to continue to build a world for herself and her sons. It is a really beautiful book. 

I have had the pleasure of being in Elizabeth’s company three times over the last few months, and each was a complete delight. We spoke extensively about the book. I have four friends who lost their spouses at young ages, and THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD is something I think each could relate to. This also would make for a brilliant book group discussion.