Join the Time & Narrative LC for our third gathering of the semester! Anne Pinkerton 91F, director of communications, will be reading from and discussing her forthcoming memoir, Were You Close? a sister’s quest to know the brother she lost.

“It’s been a decade since my brother died. His death has shaped me and it has confounded me — with its curses and blessings, too…. You consider yourself something of an expert on a topic you never wanted to study.” 

—Anne Pinkerton 91F for Modern Loss

When she’s not crafting the College’s external communications, Anne uses her writing to grapple with the trauma of loss. An essayist, memoirist, and poet, her writing has been published in Hippocampus Magazine, The Bark, River Teeth Journal, and elsewhere. 

Please join us in conversation with her as she reads a chapter from her new book about the loss of her brother and explores her process: Why write in times of grief? How do you take care of yourself while making art about pain? 

Her presentation will be followed by a talkback/Q&A where we can continue to collectively delve into our LC challenge question: How can art and creative practice engage trauma? There will be pizza.

Were You Close? challenges the cultural notion that the bereaved should simply “get over” their losses, illustrating that integrating these experiences can actually help a mourner not just heal, but move forward with clarified purpose. 

Full book blurb (and pre-order link!): https://www.vineleavespress.com/were-you-close-by-anne-pinkerton.html