All Set for Black, Thanks.: A New Look at Mourning

Description

When Miriam Weinstein's good friend died unexpectedly, and other losses followed close behind, it led to a year of introspection and black outfits. All Set For Black, Thanks ditches the sanctimony to give us the help, and the laughs, that we actually need in times of mourning and grief. She explores such topics as how we keep our dead with us even as we learn to let them go; why we should not bring casseroles; how to write the Best Eulogy Ever. Part memoir, part how-to, this book will help you get through the rough bargain of human existence: none of us gets out of here alive, but we live as if the lives of our loved ones had no end.

Miriam Weinstein writes about family, friendship, how we navigate time, and how we make meaning in our lives. Starting as a documentary filmmaker, then moving into print journalism, she won awards in many categories. Her book, Yiddish: A Nation of Words, won the National Jewish Book Award. Her next book, The Surprising Power of Family Meals: How Eating Together Makes Us Smarter, Stronger, Healthier and Happier, opened a national conversation, with quotes on the front page of the New York Times and in Time magazine. Weinstein lives in Gloucester, MA with her husband.

"Who knew I'd find a collection of essays about death to be shockingly funny? I should have known-given the collection's title, All Set for Black, Thanks, and the cover, which is a Vogue-ish drawing of some little-black-going-to-a-funeral dresses. But of course Miriam Weinstein's new book is also touching, for the what-to-wear dilemmas she addresses are surrounded by evocative descriptions of how loved one's react at life's passing. These are intensely personal essays about death written by an introspective woman with a keen gift for outre and, dare I say 'cheering,' gab." -Rebecca Coffey, author of Hysterical "With grace and keen wit Miriam Weinstein provides a survivor's manual for all who face loss. Colleagues, friends, and loved ones die frequently in her account. This book is a love letter to them, as well as a guide to those left behind. Weinstein teaches us how to mourn as well as how to embrace the gift of life that is still ours." -Daniel Jacobs, Director, Center for Advanced Psychoanalytic Studies "All Set for Black, Thanks is an important contribution to grief literature. By nimbly straddling memoir and self-help, Miriam Weinstein reveals both the universal and personal road we all must travel when we lose someone we deeply loved." -Allison Gilbert, author of Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive and Always Too Soon: Voices of Support for Those Who Have Lost Both Parents "All Set for Black, Thanks takes mourning out of the closet as we follow Miriam Weinstein through a year of funerals, shivas, casseroles and eulogies. We see loss and the rituals that surround it through her wry, resilient, wise lens, feeling almost guilty when we can't help laughing. Weinstein's little black dress allows you to be your true vulnerable self in the face of what we fear the most. Put it on! You'll be surprised." -Sally Ryder Brady, Author, A Box of Darkness