Introduction to Private Lives: Sally Donaldson’s A Long Goodbye to My Mother

Abstract

Sally’s moving and complicated memoir piece confirms why so many people write about loss. The literature on grief is voluminous and resonates with readers of all ages. Two books in particular come to mind: Meghan O’Rourke’s “The Long Goodbye,” about mourning her mother, and Joyce Carol Oates’ “A Widow’s Story,” about the death of her husband. Oates and O’Rourke illustrate how love and loneliness can produce lengthy books in search of meaning.