Wake Me Up When September Ends…

September update

This month was rough. I had a death in my family that I was not expecting, so reading saved me from spiraling into grief. I read when my mind wanted to revisit memories. I read to quiet the “You weren’t there for them.”  I read to find peace in this storm called life. I can say reading helped. I wanted to cook and bake, but my friends were busy, and I did not want to be a burden, but reading helped. I started to think about different books I read that dealt with grieving.

Antione Bandlae Series- TJ Young and the Orisha. The book starts with TJ dealing with the death of his sister. We go through a range of grief, anger, frustrations, and the beginning. Bandale does an excellent job describing and showing the waves of grief within a family and community. As the book progresses, you find yourself cheering for TJ and seeing him make peace with the death of his sister as he steps into his journey to becoming the person he is destined to be.

Next is the Christopher Moore Series “A Dirty Job and Secondhand Souls.”  It has been over ten years since I read either book, but I remember how I felt when I realized the main character deals with grief, a newborn, and his new job as a soul merchant. Moore captured the absurdity of dealing with death while trying to move forward with him and his family life.

Crying in H-Mart- I still have not finished this book, but it has profoundly affected my psyche. I do have to spend this book because my brain is currently at how I move forward; without this person in my life, most people will look at me like stop being dramatic, but it is so painful to think I do not have this person in my life anymore. I remember how I cried for the writer dealing with losing her mother and the grief she felt. If you are dealing with grief, please talk to a grief counselor or a therapist; it will help, especially for conflicting feelings of love and resentment.

Legend Born- I read this book during the pandemic. Bree Matthews is dealing with losing her mother. I think I will go back and reread this book; with my newfound grief, I lost my grandmother, and she was an actual mother figure to me; she made my school lunch, came to parent-teacher conferences, and talked to teachers when my mom had to work. She watched me after school and took me to doctors’ appointments. When I originally read this book, I had a basic level of sympathy for Bree, but now I can see how even trying to proceed with her life after losing her mother was a triumph of her spirit. I will reread it with fresh eyes and emotions to see if I am still hard on Bree or if I develop more empathy for her loss.

Honorable Mentions: The Conductors because the death in the book is really about the murder mystery. At the end, a significant event occurs, and you, as the reader, see how it breaks one of the main characters.

The Song of Achilles- The last few chapters deal with certain characters’ deaths and the bargaining a character does to be with their loved ones. So beautifully written, and the best scene where I see someone honestly bargain in grief. Some people do not know there is a phase during grief where you begin for the person to return. You negotiate that they will not die; you bargain, knowing you cannot deal with death.

I read several books this month, but none of these books are the books mentioned above. I will update the next blog with books I read in September. I also Read a book for National Hispanic Heritage Month and completed a book series that I love! Right now, I wanted to write a post about books that displayed death and grief in diverse ways, whether through an adventure to find your loved one, becoming a death merchant, learning about your family legacy through the end, or just understanding you miss your connection to your heritage from losing a loved one.

If you love anyone, tell them you love them. If you are dealing with grief and need help, please get in touch with a professional. Grief can be heavy and overwhelming, but there is hope and help to get through the process.

Until Next time,

Che Michelle