The light of the world : a memoir

by Elizabeth Alexander

Hardcover, 2015

Status

Available

Genres

Biography & Memoir

Biography

Collection

Book Haven

Publication

New York : Grand Central Publishing, 2015.

Description

" In THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, Elizabeth Alexander--poet, mother, and wife--finds herself at an existential crossroads after the sudden death of her husband, who was just 49. Reflecting with gratitude on the exquisite beauty of her married life that was, grappling with the subsequent void, and feeling a re-energized devotion to her two teenage sons, Alexander channels her poetic sensibilities into a rich, lucid prose that describes a very personal and yet universal quest for meaning, understanding, and acceptance. She examines the journey we take in life through the lens of her own emotional and intellectual evolution, taking stock of herself at the midcentury mark. Because so much of her poetry is personal or autobiographical in nature, her transition to memoir is seamless, guided by her passionate belief in the power of language, her determination to share her voyage of self-discovery with her boys, and her embrace of the principle that the unexamined life is not worth living. This beautifully written book is for anyone who has loved and lost. It's about being strong when you want to collapse, about being grateful when someone has been stolen from you--it's discovering the truth in your life's journey: the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's Elizabeth Alexander's story but it is all of our stories because it is about discovering what matters"--… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Olivermagnus

In the spring of 2012, four days after his 50th-birthday party, Ficre Ghebreyesus had a heart attack while exercising on a treadmill in the home he shared with his wife, Elizabeth Alexander. Ficre was an artist, chef, poet, father, and beloved husband. This memoir documents mesmerizing essays from

their life together as well as as scenes from his past in war torn Eritrea, where he grew up.

Elizabeth Alexander is a professor of poetry at Yale, and is best known for reading her poem “Praise Song for the Day” at President Obama’s 2009 inauguration. She has written a memoir that describes both meeting and losing her husband and the great love of her life. She touches on politics, race, art, food, and the incredible grief she experienced with he died. The Light of the World is painful, as well as powerful. It is difficult to believe that anyone who has suffered loss will remain unaffected while reading this.

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LibraryThing member Beamis12

I'm not a big personal memoir reader, generally I end up, thinking of them as pity memoirs but this book proves me wrong. When Ficre, Elizabeth's husband dies unexpectedly of a heart attack, Elizabeth must find a way to come to terms with her heart ache and grief. This is a beautiful testament to

love, friendship, fatherhood, beginnings and endings, what a wonderful testament to a love that will never be forgotten even as her and her son's lives mist go on.

ARC from publisher.

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LibraryThing member Zonnywhoop

A touching memoir of a lost husband that tries a little too hard to project the best intentions of a marriage. The best parts were when Alexander was grappling with the reality of her loss (which she did with beautiful poetic abstraction cemented in tangible images). Far less effective was the

inclusion of recipes (couldn't this have just been a footnote or appendix to the book?) and the forced descriptions of just how wonderfully cosmopolitan they were.

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LibraryThing member c.archer

A touching and beautiful story of love and remembrance of a man by his wife.

LibraryThing member TNbookgroup

This is a love story that is a story of loss. The author is a poet and writes in beautiful prose about her husband and the life they shared with their children before his untimely death. He was an amazing man.
Lisa It is in hardback, paperback I am pretty sure and kindle. .

LibraryThing member Narshkite

The most beautiful love story I have ever read. This book is a memoir of Alexander's late husband who died suddenly just after his 50th birthday. I am still surprised that my primary emotion when reading was not grief over Ficre's death, but happiness over knowing that such a man existed, that he

found the perfect partner for him, and that they lived that experience with joy and vigor and generosity.

This may go without saying, but Alexander's writing is simply perfect.

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LibraryThing member froxgirl

Although it is difficult to believe that any marriage could be as perfect as that of the author and her late husband Ficre Ghebreyesus, the reader can willingly suspend belief in order to absorb her message of the need to live in each moment appreciatively and slowly. Alexander, a Black poet and

academic, and Ficre, an African from Eritrea, master of seven languages, chef, painter, poet, meet as it truly was destiny, and live for fifteen years together with their sons in Hamden, CT, in the midst of a divine garden he makes of their yard, with plants and flowers from all over the world. A particularly endearing passage is Elizabeth practicing how to pronounce Fiche's name by listening and reciting it while playing back his first voice mail message. They are beloved by friends and neighbors and are well on their way towards their goals of launching their sons and moving to NYC when Fiche dies of a sudden heart attack on a treadmill in their basement. The family’s loss, the impact on their wider family and community, and her slow recovery are entwined with her memories and her dreams of Fiche sending her loving messages. This gentle, sad, glowing retelling of their luck in love is so touching and maybe, for those who have lost a spouse, comforting balm to reread again and again.

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LibraryThing member CarrieWuj

This is a beautiful book -- an elegy in poetry and prose and color and mysticism. Elizabeth Alexander is a poet -- she wrote "Praise Song for the Day" for Obama's first inauguration. Here she writes a memoir of the time surrounding her husband's sudden, unexpected death of a heart attack at age 50.

But moreso the book is about their history, their relationship, their "sacred love" of which she reflects: "in all marriages there is struggle and ours was no different in that regard. But we always came to the other shore, dusted off, and said, 'There you are, my love.'" (76) If only all marital spats were resolved so blissfully! But this is the sensibility of Alexander and her husband Ficre (fee-cray) was a chef and an artist and they saw their world through the lens of art and "were blessed to take in the world that way." In that regard this book is a celebration of life -- the tiny countless ways we love and the details that make life worth living --Alexander talks about Ficre's garden and includes some of his recipes and there is poetry here too - an intellectual scrapbook of memories and meaning and the overall reminder to cherish. I imagine this book would be a great comfort to someone grieving a spouse.

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LibraryThing member bookworm12

This memoir on grief is poetic and heartbreaking. It reminded me quite a bit of From Scratch. Both women lost their husbands at a young age. Both women dealt with different cultural backgrounds in their relationships. This one was missing the passion for cooking, but includes a sincere celebration

for the small joys in life. It’s heartbreaking that these women had such similar stories to write about.

“For those were the years of amorous love and its fulsome expressions which sustain us through the winter months of marriage.”

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LibraryThing member fmclellan

Beautifully poetic meditation upon grief. Lyrical and moving. Highly recommended for the grieving, or for those who will be.

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