The Bright Hour

A Memoir of Living and Dying

By: Nina Riggs, Kirby Heyborne

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

* INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER *

“Stunning…heartrending…this year’s When Breath Becomes Air.” —Nora Krug, The Washington Post

“Beautiful and haunting.” —Matt McCarthy, MD, USA TODAY

“Vivid, immediate.” —Laura Collins-Hughes, The Boston Globe

The New York Times bestseller by poet Nina Riggs, mother of two young sons and the direct descendant of Ralph Waldo Emerson, is “a stunning…heart-rending meditation on life…It is this year’s When Breath Becomes Air” (The Washington Post).

We are breathless but we love the days. They are promises. They are the only way to walk from one night to the other.

Poet and essayist Nina Riggs was just thirty-seven years old when initially diagnosed with breast cancer—one small spot. Within a year, she received the devastating news that her cancer was terminal.

How does a dying person learn to live each day “unattached to outcome”? How does one approach the moments, big and small, with both love and honesty? How does a young mother and wife prepare her two young children and adored husband for a loss that will shape the rest of their lives? How do we want to be remembered?

Exploring motherhood, marriage, friendship, and memory, Nina asks: What makes a meaningful life when one has limited time? “Profound and poignant” (Oprah Daily), The Bright Hour is about how to make the most of all the days, even the painful ones. It’s about the way literature, especially Nina’s direct ancestor, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and her other muse, Montaigne, can be a balm and a form of prayer.

Brilliantly written and exceptionally moving, it’s a “deeply affecting memoir, a simultaneously heartbreaking and funny account of living with loss and the specter of death. As Riggs lyrically, unflinchingly details her reality, she finds beauty and truth that comfort even amid the crushing sadness” (People).

Tender and heartwarming, The Bright Hour “is a gentle reminder to cherish each day” (Entertainment Weekly) and offers us this important perspective: “You can read a multitude books about how to die, but Riggs, a dying woman, will show you how to live” (The New York Times Book Review).

Hard copy please

The amateur narration really took the life out of the potent writing so evident when I read Nina Rigg’s blog. Still the collection of essays which Rigg’s infused with poetry deserve to reach the widest audience, so listen if you must, read if you can.

Caring

The first thing I need to say is this is not always an easy "read". There were breaks for tissues on my part, and one or two days when I couldn't turn it on. That being said it was interlaced with the humor and caring of day-by-day living. A family with small children, grandparents, friends, trying to live honestly and with hope. And, it is important to mention, this book is superbly written. My heart goes to all of them. They will enable each other to survive.

Beautiful book

A beautiful book read by such a soothing narrator. I couldn’t help but feel calm while I listened to Nina’s story.

excellent

Sad, but incredibly well written and honest. a very worth while read. highly recommend it.

Awe inspiring legacy of A Brave Young Woman.

Nina Riggs was an intelligent woman who was living her life just the way that we all do, one day at a time. This was one 'smart cookie' who managed to juggle her family, friends and career. However at no time does she try to kid us that she was even close to perfect. It is more than apparent that she is blessed with an exceptional sense of humor and as you dig deeper into her book. Through the last two years of her life she really needed that sense of humor.

It will make you smile, perhaps giggle. In fact I laughed out loud at a couple of Nina's observations. Sadly I am sure that much of her suffering will make you cry. On the upside I think that it will also make you grateful for what you have.

Beautifully and compassionately narrated by Cassandra Campbell and Kirby Heyborne.

I am so grateful to the Riggs family for publishing this after Nina's passing as I really feel that it is Nina's gift to the world and needed to be heard.