* INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * “Stunning…heartrending…this year’s When Breath Becomes Air.” —Nora Krug, The Washington Post “Beautiful and haunting.” —Matt McCarthy, MD, USA TODAY “Deeply affecting…simultaneously heartbreaking and funny.” —People (Book of the Week) “Vivid, immediate.” —Laura Collins-Hughes, The Boston Globe Starred reviews from * Kirkus Reviews * Publishers Weekly * Library Journal * Best Books of 2017 Selection by * The Washington Post * Most Anticipated Summer Reading Selection by * The Washington Post * Entertainment Weekly * Glamour * The Seattle Times * Vulture * InStyle * Bookpage * Bookriot * Real Simple * The Atlanta Journal-Constitution * The New York Times bestseller by poet Nina Riggs, mother of two young sons and the direct descendant of Ralph Waldo Emerson, is “a stunning…heart-rending meditation on life…It is this year’s When Breath Becomes Air” (The Washington Post). We are breathless but we love the days. They are promises. They are the only way to walk from one night to the other. Poet and essayist Nina Riggs was just thirty-seven years old when initially diagnosed with breast cancer—one small spot. Within a year, she received the devastating news that her cancer was terminal. How does a dying person learn to live each day “unattached to outcome”? How does one approach the moments, big and small, with both love and honesty? How does a young mother and wife prepare her two young children and adored husband for a loss that will shape the rest of their lives? How do we want to be remembered? Exploring motherhood, marriage, friendship, and memory, Nina asks: What makes a meaningful life when one has limited time? “Profound and poignant” (O, The Oprah Magazine), The Bright Hour is about how to make the most of all the days, even the painful ones. It’s about the way literature, especially Nina’s direct ancestor, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and her other muse, Montaigne, can be a balm and a form of prayer. Brilliantly written and exceptionally moving, it’s a “deeply affecting memoir, a simultaneously heartbreaking and funny account of living with loss and the specter of death. As Riggs lyrically, unflinchingly details her reality, she finds beauty and truth that comfort even amid the crushing sadness” (People, Book of the Week). Tender and heartwarming, The Bright Hour “is a gentle reminder to cherish each day” (Entertainment Weekly, Best New Books) and offers us this important perspective: “You can read a multitude books about how to die, but Riggs, a dying woman, will show you how to live” (The New York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice).

* INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "Stunning...heartrending...this year's When Breath Becomes Air." -Nora Krug, The Washington Post "Beautiful and haunting." -Matt McCarthy, MD, USA TODAY "Deeply affecting...simultaneously heartbreaking and funny." -People (Book of the Week)

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 When I was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, I was thirty-eight years old. I was told that dying isn’t the end of the world, and that there are many things worse than death. But the beautiful, vibrant world goes on. #2 I was reminded of a story I heard on NPR about a team-building exercise that an employer in South Korea was using to raise worker morale. The employees dress in long robes and sit at desks. Each writes a letter to a loved one as if it were their last correspondence. Sniffling and even outright weeping are acceptable. Next to each desk is a big wooden box. But not an ordinary wooden box: a coffin.

From snippets of a nomadic childhood, through thrilling alpine adventures, two careers, and fateful turns in her life, to profound love in her later years, the author chronicles the highlights of her life. THE BRIGHT HOURS is a light hearted book that takes a look at the quirky side of events.

Derek's been secretly storing up power for millennia, because he wants revenge on everyone on his list-and it's a very long list. But as a low-level crossroads demon, his chances of success are pretty much zero. Now he's stuck escorting three idiots through Hell: a condemned hitman, a choir girl cast into the Pit by a clerical error, and her guardian angel-with whom Derek has a history, thanks very much.With an infernal rebellion looming, along with a premature Armageddon, the black and withered thing Derek used to call a conscience rears its stupid head. Now he has a choice...Rescue friends he never thought he'd have from a boss he never thought he'd defy. Or let it all burn and dance in the ashes.