Nora McInerny is my grief hero and, whether you’re grieving someone (or something) or not, this is an amazing, funny, insightful read that you should most definitely pick up!
A couple years ago, Nora miscarried her second child, lost her dad to cancer, and lost her husband to cancer, all within 2 months. Her husband’s fight with cancer went on for 3 years, during which she blogged a lot. Blogging a lot was how she coped with the overload of feelings and grief, and out of that she wrote her book, It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying is Cool Too).
The book is both hilarious and moving, and you’ll find yourself moving from laughing to crying within a couple of chapters. If that sounds too intense for you, it’s not at all…it gives you all the feels, in all the good ways.
I found Nora’s book when searching for books about grief to read after losing my son, Jonah, to stillbirth in January. I’ve been doing the same thing as Nora (pouring out my deepest of feelings onto a blog that you can find here), and her book soothed me so much in my grief – I just loved it. She tackles grieving with grace and panache, and it’s awesome.
“I am creating my own path through my own grief, toward my own version of happiness.”
I recently went to a local book signing (Nora lives here in Minneapolis!) and was able to both hear her speak and meet her. She was hilarious and wonderful, and gave me an amazing hug.
Nora is a compassionate human with (too much) experience in the complicated art of grieving, and her book encompasses so many things about life and grief and love, and being imperfect, and being human. She does all of this while throwing in casual jokes that will make you lol.
“There is no syllabus for life that outlines the steps you need to take to graduate to the next event. This life itself is the lesson and the test and there is no dean’s list and no gold stars. There is just the sum of your relationships and your actions, measured by how you feel when you lie down to go to sleep at night, and how many people heart your tweets.”
Please, pick up this book. It will be the best nonfiction you read all year <3
Also, if you’re interested in a wonderful and moving podcast, make sure to check out Nora’s Terrible, Thanks for Asking.
