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Grief Is for People

By: Sloane Crosley
Narrated by: Sloane Crosley
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Publisher's summary

Long-listed, Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, 2024

"An unflinching and deeply absorbing memoir of grief and loss, expertly narrated by the author."—Library Journal (Starred Review)

"Crosley’s narration is frank and articulate, a perfect complement to the wit and candor of her prose."—BookPage

"Crosley's fresh imagery and pithy one-liners are delivered with perfect timing."—AudioFile

This program is read by the author.

Disarmingly witty and poignant, Sloane Crosley’s memoir explores multiple kinds of loss following the death of her closest friend.

Grief Is for People is a deeply moving and surprisingly suspenseful portrait of friendship, and a book about loss packed with verve for life. Sloane Crosley is one of our most renowned observers of contemporary behavior, and now the pathos that has been ever present in her trademark wit is on full display. After the pain and confusion of losing her closest friend to suicide, Crosley looks for answers in friends, philosophy, and art, hoping for a framework more useful than the unavoidable stages of grief.

For most of her adult life, Sloane and Russell worked together and played together as they navigated the corridors of office life, the literary world, and the dramatic cultural shifts in New York City. One day, while Russell is still alive, Sloane’s apartment is broken into. Along with her most prized possessions, the thief makes off with her sense of security, leaving a mystery in its place.

When Russell dies exactly one month later, his suicide propels her on a wild quest to right the unrightable, to explore what constitutes family and possession as the city itself faces the staggering toll brought on by the pandemic.

Crosley’s search for truth is frank, darkly funny, and gilded with a resounding empathy. Upending the “grief memoir,” Grief Is for People is the category-defying story of the struggle to hold on to the past without being consumed by it. A modern elegy, it rises precisely to console and challenge our notions of mourning during these grief-stricken times.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

©2024 Sloane Crosley (P)2024 Macmillan Audio
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Critic reviews

"Is it wrong to say that a memoir about loss and grieving is fun to read? If so, I’m in trouble, because I enjoyed every word of this book. I also ached and suffered along with Crosley: Her portrait of mourning after the suicide of her best friend is gutting and deeply engaging."—Susan Orlean, author of The Orchid Thief

"Potent and propulsive, a lyrical meditation on loss and what comes after. Grief Is for People is heartbreaking and wholly original."—Tara Westover, author of Educated

"I have come to rely on Sloane Crosley for her oyster knife humor, bourbon hot observation, and indelible portraits of how we live with each other. Grief Is For People is about how we live without the ones we love. Crosley brings her whole self to this memoir—her gifts, her flaws, her intellect, her wit and emotion. She loves hard, grieves hard, and writes with the beauty and urgency of a white hot star. I wish I didn’t 'get' this book as much as I do but Grief Is for People is the book I didn’t know I needed to read."—Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage

Editorial Review

A raw portrait of loss and longing
Recently, a close friend had asked me to recommend a feel-good listen unmarred by major heartache or tragedy. It took a while to drum one up, as the opposite is pretty much my speciality. Strange as it sounds, I consider myself somewhat of a grief memoir connoisseur, and I’ve found some of the most human stories are those that deal with our universally inevitable end. The reality is that to live and love is to grieve. And it’s a reality that writer Sloane Crosley knows well. In this moving, thoughtful, and wry eulogy for a beloved late friend, she considers how to carry on alongside such gutting absence. As she explores the depthless void wreaked by loss, be it by death or burglary, she offers a new perspective on how to move forward in the face of the unfathomable. It's such a deeply touching story, made all the more affecting in Crosley's own voice. — Audible Editor, Alanna M.

What listeners say about Grief Is for People

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A good story about living through loss well told

Though it must have been unpleasant to live through, it was enjoyable and intriguing to read. And very relatable if you are a person and have ever lost anything or anyone. I feel like I watched the thoughts, things and places of several long years go by and back by the author's mind in the fast talking slow moving world of New York book publishing and friendship.

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Creative words

Absolutely stunning writing. A gift shared with us. A Russell shared with us. Jewelry we imagine.

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Beautiful

I binged the entire book and lost track of time until about 2am when the acknowledgements started.

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3 people found this helpful

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Spectacular

This book is about everything. I walked 15 miles “reading” it. Sloan’s voice is beautiful and yet not lulling. The prose leaps even in audio, and the small and large revelations are too numerous to list. It’s also funny and I cried twice standing still, earbuds in.

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1 person found this helpful

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Worth it

Heartfelt and personal. I really enjoyed the writers style and viewpoint. The perfect mix of sad, profound and humorous.

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Speechless.

My heart has turned over countless times reading this. I cannot recommend it enough. My soul devoured this book.

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Heartfelt and Touches Your Soul

The prose is beautiful. Sloane knows how to broach such an incredibly tough subject with grace, truth, and reality. I would recommend this to everyone carrying grief.

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Uncomfortable but needed

It was slow to start but it picked up and that’s when I started to really enjoy it. It made me feel a variety of feelings which is something I crave now in books. The author is talented but a small critique. It’s so well written that at times it doesn’t feel accessible to the everyday reader. I would recommend this.

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Lovely Presentation of a Tough Topic

I loved listening to this book. Suicide is a tough topic to discuss, but the author does a great job of paying tribute to her friend.

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intellectual and empathetic author

narration was perfect because it was from the author. often times it read like poetry.

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