Karl asked Shannon Leone Fowler:

Just wanted to say thanks for the great book. Such honest, unsparing writing is rare. We had an unexpected loss in our family too (suicide in our case), and so many things you wrote rang so true -- "don't know how you get through it", never forgetting despite the years and life events since, etc. So ... thanks. Ok, a question: maybe a recommendation for an author, perhaps lesser-known, whose work moves you?

Shannon Leone Fowler Thank you for writing, and I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I wish there was more I could say. I am glad that my story may have helped in some small way.
There were a number of books that meant a great deal to me after Sean’s death: Joan Didion’s Year of Magical Thinking, Judith Barrington’s Lifesaving, After Shocks: The Poetry of Recovery for Life-Shattering Events, and Andrew X. Pham’s Catfish and Mandala.
But two books really stood out for me. Elizabeth McCracken's An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination is incredible and I found myself wishing I had written some of what she wrote. And Sonali Deraniyagala’s memoir, Wave has got to be the most brutal, unapologetic, unflinching, uncomfortable, raw, brave, and truthful book I’ve read about grief.

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