{"product_id":"on-witness-and-respair","title":"On Witness and Respair","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"[A] tribute to the power of hope, beauty, and resilience.\" \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--The Atlanta Journal-Constitution\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003eThe collected creative nonfiction of a singular American writer, Jesmyn Ward, including widely shared classics, three never-before-published speeches, and an introductory essay.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eRespair (noun, obsolete), fresh hope after despair.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e From the two-time National Book Award winner and \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Jesmyn Ward, this collection of essays documents more than a decade of work in the life of a singular writer. \"Known for her moving and award-winning fiction, this collection of essays gives readers a sense of the powerful Southern woman behind the unforgettable stories\" (\u003ci\u003eGarden \u0026amp; Gun\u003c\/i\u003e). Beginning with her upbringing in a multigenerational household in rural Mississippi, the cradle of both her youth and her gift for storytelling, Ward brings her keen wisdom and hauntingly lyrical prose to a collection, following in her grandmother Dorothy's footsteps when she promises always to \"Tell it straight. Tell it all.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e True to her word, in these pages Ward contemplates the writers and novels of her youth and adulthood as well as her approach to both fiction and life: reflecting on the power of the novel, how to raise a Black son in an era of rising divisiveness and cruelty, as well as her own personal tragedies--including the titular essay of the collection, which tells the story of her partner's sudden death on the eve of the COVID-19 epidemic. \"You see from her buoyant writing about friends, family, food, and other topics that [Ward] would be one of our best Southern writers without so much agony. Her resilience is plain; so is the sense that she'd be happy to have trouble no more\" (\u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs piercing and moving as her fiction, \u003ci\u003eOn Witness and Respair\u003c\/i\u003e is a monument to hope, beauty, and personal and collective resilience.","brand":"Scribner Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48841096102093,"sku":"9781668064269","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0557\/1529\/9533\/files\/imageloader_8b63697d-0ac1-4993-8c37-921fc1608954.jpg?v=1792002982","url":"https:\/\/booksatmidnight.com\/products\/on-witness-and-respair","provider":"Books At Midnight","version":"1.0","type":"link"}