My Reading Life After a Death

My Reading Life After a Death This is a guest post from Leslie Pietrzyk.  Leslie is the author of two novels,  Pears on a Willow Tree and A Year and a Day. This Angel on My Chest, her collection of linked short stories, won the 2015 Drue Heinz Literature Prize and will be published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in October. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in many publications, including Gettysburg Review, The Sun, Shenandoah, River Styx, Iowa Review, TriQuarterly, New England Review, Salon, and the Washington Post Magazine. She has received fellowships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Pietrzyk is a member of the core fiction faculty at the Converse low-residency MFA program and teaches in the MA Program in Writing at Johns Hopkins University. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia. Follow her on Twitter  @lesliepwriter. ____________________ Several years ago my husband died suddenly when he was 37 and I was 35. Lost, bereft, desperate for guidance…naturally I turned to books. I needed to know I was not alone in the world, though that’s exactly how I felt with him now gone. Psychologists say the stages of grieving are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, and while neither my reading nor my grieving precisely followed that pathway, those steps are a helpful framework when I think back on how books helped pull me through that terrible time. Denial Before the funeral, a friend handed me a copy of A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis, the classic book about loss in which Lewis offers a diary-like glimpse of his life following his wife’s death and his meditations on his struggle to understand this pain. It’s a heartbreaking book, but I felt a sense of numb distance as I read. This poor guy, I thought, he’s so sad. There’s no quick and jolly conclusion, no “and then I lived happily ever after,” which should have signaled something to me. But I was in denial, and this book let me rest there a little longer. Anger I feel lucky to have escaped much of the ravages of anger. But one Friday night shortly after the funeral, after all the friends and relatives had returned to their own lives, I was determined to get back to my life, too. I planned to read a book, a novel, just an ordinary novel like the kind everyone else read. I simply wanted to feel normal again. I crawled under the comforter on the bed, flipped on the lamp, read the first sentence of that ordinary novel, and started to bawl, realizing that nothing was normal, and it wouldn’t be normal for a long, long time. My husband had died and I was alone. I heaved that poor novel across the room and never finished it. Sorry, innocent book! (I don’t even remember your title.) Bargaining Okay, I got it: my life was upside-down and inside-out, and my heart had been wrung dry. But what if I read up on what was happening? What if I educated myself on loss and grieving? If I worked hard enough, couldn’t I get a grip? I would study the problem. That would give me control over the situation. So I drove to the library and plunked myself in front of the psychology self-help books, an area I usually avoided. Dewey decimal number 155, give or take. Sitting on the floor amidst the stacks, I grabbed every book that even half-applied and sampled chapters and perused tables of contents until jargon swirled through my head. I headed home with a giant armload that I renewed as many times as the library let me. My favorite book out of this pile, one I tracked down and bought later, was a memoir published in 1974. Widow  was written by Lynn Caine, a young widow who spoke frankly of her feelings and pain during a buttoned-up time when loss was publically dismissed as little more than an inconvenience. She offered concrete advice and solace and made me nod my head in agreement a thousand times. Though reading all these books didn’t magically make me feel in control of my life or my emotions, it was a relief to gain a greater intellectual understanding of the grieving process. Depression When wallowing in gloom, only poetry will do. Thanks to what I had learned from the library books, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of wallowing. Yes, anyone would feel wretched after a major loss. Yes, it’s okay to admit to those feelings of sadness and loneliness. No, there’s no quick fix or magic word to make you feel instantly better. Instead, settle in and…well…feel your feelings, as hard as that may be. Two poetry collections in particular resonated with me: Without by Donald Hall is a series of poems written about his wife, the poet Jane Kenyon, who died from leukemia. Later, I read her poems as well which I also recommend, but during this time, I read Hall’s book straight through, and then turned back to page one to read it all again. I was also moved by Marie Howe’s book, What the Living Do, with many poems about her brother who died of AIDS. Poets feel deeply so we don’t have to and find for us the words we’re afraid to speak. Acceptance Anyone who has worked through a loss has undoubtedly wrestled with “acceptance,” discovering that it’s not a single clarion moment but an ongoing journey. My reading life shifted into revisiting beloved books of my childhood: Little Women, Charlotte’s Web, Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, Stuart Little, and Harriet the Spy. Beth dies; Charlotte dies; Christopher Robin outgrows the Hundred Acre Wood; Stuart heads north, yearning for Margalo the bird; and Harriet’s adored nanny forsakes her for marriage. Loss, loss, and more loss. We learn of loss early and its inevitable presence in our lives. Without loss, could we cherish what we have had, however briefly? We learn, too, that we are able to continue on, finding strength to turn to the next page, trusting that the stories we hold most precious will endure.

Do You Have What It Takes to Write a Successful Biography Essay?

<h1>Do You Have What It Takes to Write a Successful Biography Essay?</h1><p>If you are composing a personal history article, at that point you will require various account paper tests for you to utilize. Similarly as with any topic that you compose on, these papers can assist you with deciding whether you can compose on the point without getting hindered by your own assumptions and knowledge.</p><p></p><p>You may have a few thoughts or musings, yet except if you look at them intently you are probably going to get stalled and be not able to make any progress. Various collection of memoirs paper tests can assist you with discovering what kind of procedures and words to utilize and what style and language you ought to decide to make your own remarkable voice.</p><p></p><p>Several instances of life account article tests are accessible on the web. You can find out around a few instances of fruitful life accounts that you ca n discover by visiting well known sites, for example, Yahoo and Google. These sites are committed to giving you the best assets accessible to discover tips and procedures for fruitful writing.</p><p></p><p>Some of the most widely recognized history exposition tests accessible incorporate composition from the point of view of a friend or family member who has as of late died or somebody who was as of late engaged with a mishap. A portion of the themes that you can take a gander at incorporate subjects, for example, love and misfortune, enslavement, profession, connections, wellbeing, sports, thus on.</p><p></p><p>You may find that you stall out in your own contemplations or thoughts and no one can really tell where to go. So as to kill this difficult you can utilize the assets offered by the free sites that can help you to make your own one of a kind voice. You should locate these free sites that offer free data and have a rundown of fr ee examples to guarantee that you can make your own style and sound with the style that you have chosen.</p><p></p><p>Writing is an aptitude that requirements time and practice. By utilizing various life account article tests you will have the option to find the style that you like and begin composing on the point. This will permit you to explore the data that you require and dispose of the undesirable thoughts and musings that can meddle with your writing.</p><p></p><p>You may not feel that you have the ability to compose a fruitful collection of memoirs however the more you compose and the more you put forth a concentrated effort the more you will acknowledge how significant your gifts are. The more experience you gain the more agreeable you will be recorded as a hard copy and investigating your material.</p>

Writing Essays on Essay Topics Lists

<h1>Writing Essays on Essay Topics Lists</h1><p>Most colleges give out 200 pugnacious exposition points records as a major aspect of their coursework for understudies to exploit. By taking this rundown of article points and utilizing it to set up your own papers, you can get some extraordinary thoughts and practice the sorts of expositions that are regular subjects for these theme lists.</p><p></p><p>It's undeniable that many individuals need to have the option to compose enticing papers that are commonly acknowledged by scholarly organizations so they need to exploit these article subjects. And yet, these themes are not that simple to expound on and you need to recollect that these specific subjects originate from genuine circumstances. You can't simply go out and expound on them when you truly need to.</p><p></p><p>You should truly require significant investment and study these particular occasion and attempt to make sense of what precisely occurred and how you can enable your perusers to comprehend what it resembled. Thusly you can utilize it as the establishment for your contentions and have a thought regarding how to best present your paper theme and convey your message in a manner that is alluring and compelling.</p><p></p><p>Since there is such a great amount of composing on every single day, it's not astonishing that we can't locate a particular occasion or circumstance that is a fascinating subject to expound on. To this end, in the event that you can concentrate on something that can be a wellspring of data for your perusers, this will make you think of numerous thoughts. You should realize this is one kind of point that is exceptionally hard to investigate on the grounds that more often than not there is almost no data that can be gotten to about these events.</p><p></p><p>Of course, this doesn't imply that you can't concoct a typical the me that is handily examined. What it means is that you need to comprehend that it will require some investment and some push to locate a smart thought for a particular occasion or point. The more exertion you put into it, the better it will turn out.</p><p></p><p>Some of the best papers that can be composed around points like these can truly profit by the information on the 200 contentious exposition themes records. These kinds of point subjects are commonly the ones that are offered to the understudies. In case you're not keen on exploiting the theme points records, you can likewise simply discover intriguing books or magazines that will furnish you with nitty gritty data about the topic.</p><p></p><p>Once you have settled on a subject and afterward have expounded on the theme, you ought to likewise set aside some effort to examine it with others. It very well may be useful to think about these assessments and to ensure that you get t he real factors from the individuals who will have an enthusiasm for what you are saying.</p><p></p><p>Finally, recollect that when you have composed a valid statement, don't simply hurl it away. Take a gander at it and consider what it implies and choose if you should proceed onward to another point or should simply keep on expounding on the subject.</p>

Are All Essay Samples at U Penn the Same?

<h1>Are All Essay Samples at U Penn the Same?</h1><p>There are a few extraordinary assets for exposition tests, yet would they say they are no different? The appropriate response is: They can be!</p><p></p><p>Not all the assets I prescribe are indistinguishable from those at UPenn. Some are free, some are for a one-time expense, and some are for a different use.</p><p></p><p>The free alternative is the least difficult, simplest, and most adaptable asset. They offer a free first clump of expositions and may give you a couple of tips on the most proficient method to organize your paper. At the point when you utilize these assets, you will regularly get extra ones for a fee.</p><p></p><p>The expense based asset is essentially what it seems like: A free asset with a little charge for an ensuing arrangement of papers. You will most likely need to hold up some time before getting your subsequent set. In any case, the charge is commonly sensible and the expositions will be conveyed quickly.</p><p></p><p>The different use is the article tests that are offered as-is for a solitary expense. At the point when you purchase this asset, you will be paying for a whole course in one meeting. You are for the most part ensured that the papers you will get are precisely the same as the examples offered to you, so this is a magnificent value.</p><p></p><p>The just impediment when utilizing the free or expense based exposition tests is time. You can just compose an article like clockwork rather than each semester. (Which can be very frustrating!)</p><p></p><p>In my sentiment, the most effective assets are the ones I utilized at UPenn. I wouldn't have gotten as much cash-flow on the off chance that I needed to pay for them.</p><p></p><p>I found these assets from The Review Center at UPenn. They offer both a charge based and free resource.</p>