"Stunning, heartbreaking, it's this year's When Breath Becomes Air." - Nora Krug, Washington Post. "Beautiful and heartbreaking." - Matt McCarthy, M.D., USA Today. "Deeply moving... simultaneously heartbreaking and funny." - People, Book of the Week. "Vivid, momentarily realized." - Laura Collins Hughes, Boston Globe. Starred by: Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal. * Washington Post Best Books of 2017. * Washington Post * Entertainment Weekly, Glamour, Seattle Times, Vulture, InStyle, Book Page, Book Riot, Real Simple, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A New York Times bestseller by poet Nina Riggs, mother of two young sons and a direct descendant of Ralph Waldo Emerson. “A stunning, heartbreaking meditation on life, it is this year’s ‘When Breath Becomes Air’” (Washington Post). We are breathless and anticipatory, but we love the days. They are promises. They are the only way to get from one night to the next. Poet and essayist Nina Riggs was just 37 when she was initially diagnosed with breast cancer—a single, tiny spot. Within a year, she received the devastating news that her cancer was inevitable and terminal. How does a dying person learn to live each day “unbundled”? How does one handle moments, large and small, with love and honesty? How does a young mother and wife prepare her two young children and beloved 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 life meaningful when one has limited time? “Profound and moving” (The Oprah Magazine). “The Bright Hour” is about making the most of every day, even the painful ones. It’s about how literature—especially that of Nina’s immediate predecessor, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and her other inspiration, Montaigne—can be a balm and a form of prayer. “Skillfully written and exceptionally moving, it’s a profoundly moving memoir and a heartbreakingly funny account of living with loss and the specter of death.” As Riggs lyrically and unflinchingly details her reality, she finds beauty and truth that comfort her in the midst of grief. (People, Book of the Week) “The Bright Hour is tender and heartwarming. It's a sweet thing to cherish every day.” (Entertainment Weekly, Best New Books) And he offers this important perspective: “You can read many 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)