Small Pieces
A Book of Lamentations
Published on 6. July 2017
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-1-78649-230-2 (ISBN)
Description
My mother, my family and Judaism are nested inside each other. I am Jewish and always Jewish; it's analogous with family, however hard it is, and however strained, it can never be disavowed... I remain, as my therapist put it, 'enmeshed', all tangled up in the family hoard. This book has been both a continuation of my conversations with them, and an attempt to untangle myself.
This is Joanne's account of coming to terms with her brother's suicide and through that process, the entirety of her family life. In Small Pieces Joanne explores her childhood, her Jewishness and her mother's death as well as that of her brother.
The life and family Joanne describes is a complex combination of conflicting influences - both scientific and literary; Jewish and humanist impulses; and middle America and North London settings.
Small Pieces is a beautiful and searingly honest meditation on family and faith.
This is Joanne's account of coming to terms with her brother's suicide and through that process, the entirety of her family life. In Small Pieces Joanne explores her childhood, her Jewishness and her mother's death as well as that of her brother.
The life and family Joanne describes is a complex combination of conflicting influences - both scientific and literary; Jewish and humanist impulses; and middle America and North London settings.
Small Pieces is a beautiful and searingly honest meditation on family and faith.
Reviews / Votes
Small Pieces is beautiful, incredibly moving and, at times, extremely funny. -- Christina Patterson * Guardian * Gripping, heart-breaking, challenging - this memoir about a family in crisis is a must-read. * Sophie Hannah * After Joanne Limburg's brother committed suicide, she and her mother flew to the American midwest to bury him. Only there was no body to bury because he'd already been cremated. This is the starting point for a journey of reparation, to honour her brother's memory and the Jewish religion they both abandoned. Limburg re-treads the childhood that she and Julian shared, fearlessly confronting her loss, rage, grief and regret at every turn. In asking how it is possible to bear the unbearable, she uncovers those small pieces of memory and experience that we can salvage for consolation, and with startling insight and humour, she weighs the peculiar burdens and joys of family and faith. * Marina Benjamin * powerful memoir... a courageous piece of work and a valuable contribution to our understanding of mental health issues, and indeed suicide. * Jewish Chronicle * Touching... Joanne describes the events surrounding the deaths of her brother and mother with extreme pathos. * Jewish Telegraph * Can a writer be too honest? At times you want to close this book to protect its subject. -- Hilary Mantel * Guardian on THE WOMAN WHO THOUGHT TOO MUCH * Sharply self-aware... An articulate guide to the workings of the tormented mind. * Daily Telegraph on THE WOMAN WHO THOUGHT TOO MUCH * A painstaking account of life dominated by debilitating anxiety... Exceptional... [with] rare poetic insight, her candid narrative evokes both pity and admiration. * Metro on THE WOMAN WHO THOUGHT TOO MUCH * [Limburg] brings the clear, unsentimental poet's eye to her personal history... Moving and compelling, full of dark humour and insight. * Sunday Business Post on THE WOMAN WHO THOUGHT TOO MUCH * Judicious and elegant, lucid and spry, Joanne Limburg uses her uncommon gifts to anatomise an all-too-common disorder. She brings a sort of glee to the process: for all the unhappiness she describes, this remains a joyous read. * Kate Clanchy on THE WOMAN WHO THOUGHT TOO MUCH * Brave, witty, intelligent, wise, and honest, it is the story of a lifelong battle with neurosis, but it transcends pathology, uncovering the extraordinary underside of all our 'ordinary' consciousness. Her unremitting candour liberates us all. * Raymond Tallis on THE WOMAN WHO THOUGHT TOO MUCH *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 206 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
385 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78649-230-2 (9781786492302)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
07/2017
Atlantic Books
€9.99
Available for download
Person
Joanne Limburg was born and grew up in London, at the northern end of the Jubilee Line, but now lives in Cambridge with her husband and son. She has published several collections of poetry; The Woman Who Thought Too Much, a memoir about OCD, anxiety and poetry; and the novel A Want of Kindness which was longlisted for the HWA debut novel award 2016.