Losing Helen [Paperback]

Losing Helenis a moving and inspiring essay that tracks an adult daughter through the many complex phases of grief as she anticipates the inevitable loss of her elderly mother. Finding strength and guidance in the spiritual insights of writers, artists, Western religion, and Eastern philosophies, the narrator undergoes a profound transformation while striving to design an end-of-life experience that is meaningful and sacred not only for her mother but also for herself.
 

“In this beautiful memoir, Carol Becker accompanies her mother’s living and dying with wisdom, humor, and deep, uncomplicated love such as we rarely allow ourselves to feel. It is a gift of courage amidst inconsolable loss for which her readers will be grateful.”
—Marianne Hirsch, author ofThe Generation of Postmemory
 
“Carol Becker’s work of undying devotion shows us that the death of a parent can be a time of unanticipated grace. Brave, honest, and moving,Losing Helen is also unexpectedly comforting. It makes it clear that kindness, clarity and insight can arise out of a willingness to face the traumas of our lives.” 
— Mark Epstein, M.D., author ofGoing to Pieces without Falling ApartandThe Trauma of Everyday Life 
 
“Carol Becker’s extraordinary transcription of grief and love transcends various forms—memoir, autobiography—to become something else entirely: a work of literature that is entirelysui generis, constantly surprising, real, and, like the truth, beautiful and sustaining. A book to be treasured, embraced, and learned from.”
—Hilton Als, staff writer,The New Yorker