Field Notes: A Geography of Mourning

by Sharon White

Mourning finds cadence in the natural world. The ebb and flow of grief-at once disorienting and reassuring-form the landscape of Sharon White's exquisitely written memoir of loss and eventual renewal. Field Notes is White's map back to finding herself following the untimely death of her young husband. She rediscovers her bearings amid the everyday drama of nature-the shadowy company of a moose, an unbridled chorus of crows, the persistence of a young family of raccoons. "These animals cheer me, so determined and knowing as they go from one task to another. A map of the territory in their animal brains. They know what they're here for," she observes. "After Steve's death, I lost that sense of orientation. I wasn't sure anymore who I was." Her journey through loss will resonate with individuals experiencing grief, providing inspiration and reassurance along the way.

200 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2002