Speak to Me: Grief, Love and What Endures [Paperback]

Marcie Hershman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 16, 2002

The story of a brother and sister, and a meditation on what endures after the loss of our closest relationships.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Riffing on the gay pride slogan "silence = death," Hershman proclaims, "The times demand that I not stay quiet." Her supple distinctions between "voice" as an aural phenomenon, as a transcendental revelation, as a literary temperament and as a political act form "foreground and background" to her 10 intricately patterned meditations on her grief over the AIDS-related death of her brother Robert Hershman, a documentary television producer for The MacNeil-Lehrer Report and 48 Hours. "Robert and I were close because we shared certain sensibilities. We loved those of our own gender. We loved learning. We gave ourselves up to the worded silences, in study, in prayer." In this keenly observed narrative, she draws upon science, philosophy, spirituality, personal and cultural history, and recollections of individual family members, finding resonance in ordinary objects and situations and in unexpected connections: a discussion of her tape recording of her immigrant grandmother's stories dovetails eloquently with her description of watching a videotape of Robert's ordination as a maggid a storyteller and teacher in mystical Jewish practices even as his health declines. Richly nuanced, heightened by its brevity, Hershman's prose compels the reader forward, garnering trust in her perceptions, even in the penultimate chapter when Hershman steers into enigmatic metaphysical precincts. Readers open to Hershman's account of negotiating her brother's visitations in two separate dreams will find a wise, lyrical and deeply moving auscultation of a mourning heart and its possibilities for solace. (Apr. 18)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

A heartbreaking, heart-healing meditation on memory and the human voice. . . . Hershman bears fresh witness to the ancient insight that love is stronger than death. --Anita Diamant, author of The Red Tent

"Richly nuanced, heightened by its brevity, Hershman's prose compels the reader forward, garnering trust in her perceptions. . . . Wise, lyrical and deeply moving." --Publishers Weekly

"A passionate meditation on the sound of others' voices, on the way they can come to us through the magic of technology or the mystery of dreams, expressing love, assuaging grief, or communicating the mystical faiths we create for ourselves when the framework of received faith is not enough to support us in our need and our sorrow. If the book weren't so beautifully written, it would be almost too painful to read." --Amanda Heller, The Boston Globe

"What a radiant and intelligent book Marcie Hershman has written not just about the loss of her beloved brother, though that would be quite enough, but about the losses we must all endure. [It] speaks to all of us about how to live in the world. Read it." --Margot Livesey, author of Eva Moves the Furniture

"[A] sweet, powerful, longing, and lyrical memoir. This writing hears its own echoes and allows for silence. [Hershman's] voice, bound by skepticism, still opens to the miraculous." --Rodger Kamenetz, author of Stalking Elijah

"One of those rare books that leave you feeling it has contributed to your life." --Jean Charbonneau, Cleveland Plain Dealer

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (April 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807028150
• ISBN-13: 978-0807028155
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.4 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,026,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent, April 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Speak to Me : Grief, Love and What Endures (Hardcover)

Marcie Hershman's moving, lyrical account of her brother's death and the chasm of yearning it carved in her life is a tale of revealing honesty and profound feeling. I am a true fan of Hershman's work -- Tales of the Master Race counts, for me, as one of the best books of the last decade, maybe any decade, and certainly one of the most important works every written about the Holocaust -- and her latest, though quite different in its subject, is just as transforming, suffused by the same kind of mature emotional intelligence. It's a weeper, but it soars, ultimately, toward the kind of victory we can only find at the far side of our deepest losses. A work of elegance, sorrow and triumphant truth.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written, and brave., June 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Speak to Me : Grief, Love and What Endures (Hardcover)

To face your fears, to really dig down deep and write from the heart, is the biggest challenge for any writer. Marcie Hershman more than scales a mountain in SPEAK TO ME. This book is smart and serious yet it ends with such hope and joy, I was sad to put it down. Bravo! A beautiful tribute and memoir.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, Soul-stirring, Full of Wonder, July 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Speak to Me : Grief, Love and What Endures (Hardcover)

Marcie Hershman's Speak to Me is simply one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. On one level this is "about" the death of a beloved sibling; on its other levels, it engages us in the power of the human voice to speak in so many ways about love -- the love that moves us out of grief and into a richer sense of our lives. That we might hear again our loved one's voice in dreams, or "play" that voice again on audio tape, or have it echo again in memory, and that there are mysteries, too--voice after death--all these aspects of our connection to each other Marcie Hershman reminded me of. She has wit, wisdom and an honesty that reveals the heart of the matter. Her ten meditations, so gorgeously written, and so deeply felt, told me not only about the special bond she and her brother Rob shared, but of the bond I too have felt with family members I have lost. There are so many voices I still long to hear. I am extraordinarily glad to have read Speak to Me. I urge others to read it and share it. This is beautiful, heart-stirring work!