From the cover of The Blessing, A Memoir
by the poet, Gregory Orr:
"Do I dare say my brother's death was a blessing? Who would recoil first from such a statement? A reader, unsure of its context, but instinctively uneasy with the sentiment? Or me, who knows more of the context than I sometimes think I can bear, having spent most of my life struggling with the death because I caused it?"
In a hunting accident, at the age of 12, Gregory killed his brother, Peter.
As in most memoirs, the arc of the plot is not what draws the reader in; it's the voice of the writer, the lyrical and visual language, the invitation into the mind and soul of the writer.
A great read--one that has kept me awake all night, that and the fear that I might miss my ride to the airport. I never sleep on the night before air travel. If I had chosen to drive, I'd be halfway there by now.
Betty will pick me up and we'll be heading off on our mountain adventure by ten. If all goes as planned, my Uber driver will be here in an hour and maybe I can sleep on the plane.
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