The Light of the World

The Light of the World by Elizabeth Alexander
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don’t as a rule like to critique memoirs, especially ones about people working out emotional pain, as Alexander does here. Her husband has suddenly died and this memoir is about the love they shared, and how she processes his death and moves on. It is beautifully written, and the chapters slide temporally around as she remembers their life and deals with her grief. There is deep admiration, clearly love, profound sadness, doubt, inertia, courage, and hope. It is very touching. But there is no anger, little regret, and absolutely nothing other than love and admiration for her husband. Maybe it would be tactless to talk ill of the dead. Or maybe in her grief all that irritated her once was washed away. But without his flaws, it was hard to see him as a real person. And did she never at one point get mad at him for running when he didn’t feel well? I know I would have. I would have said “why did you have to be so damn perfect and go running every day? Why couldn’t you have just given up and watched tv like a normal person if you didn’t feel well?” But maybe she is better than I. Anyway, it is a beautiful book about amazing people. But without any ugliness it felt less relateable.

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