A reading by Susan Auerbach of her debut poetry collection In the Mourning Grove

How does the music of poetry help us bear the pain of a child’s suffering, as well as our own? This book offers tender elegies to a son who died by suicide and reflections on many kinds of loss through the life span—a lifeaffirming beacon for moving through grief.

These moving, complex poems teach us about heartbreak and resilience. The work is unflinching and gorgeous, the read a full-body experience leaving us hungering for more. - Carla Sameth, Co-Poet Laureate of Altadena, CA; 2023 Poet Laureate Fellow with the Academy of American Poets; & author of Secondary Inspections

...When some people bury a loved one after a suicide, they bury memories and mementos of their loved one’s life. This brave and loving book highlights how important it is to continue to celebrate and find solace in their lives. -  Kita Shantiris (author), aka Kita S. Curry, PhD, former CEO of Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, Los Angeles

SUSAN AUERBACH is a retired professor of education who returned in midlife to her first love of creative writing. Her poems have appeared in Spillway, Gyroscope Review, and other journals, as well as in her memoir, I’ll Write Your Name on Every Beach: A Mother’s Quest for Comfort, Courage & Clarity After Suicide Loss. She lives in Altadena, CA, with her husband, dogs, and chickens. Find her blog at: http://afterachildssuicide.blogspot.com