The Flower Bearers - by Rachel Eliza Griffiths (Hardcover)

About the Book

"On September 24, 2021, Rachel Eliza Griffiths married her husband, the novelist Salman Rushdie. On the same day, hundreds of miles of away, Griffiths' closest friend and chosen sister, the poet Kamilah Aisha Moon, who was expected to speak at the wedding, died suddenly. Eleven months later, as Griffiths attempted to piece together her life as a newlywed with heartbreak in one hand and immense love in the other, a brutal attack nearly killed her husband. As trauma compounded trauma, Griffiths realized that in order to survive her grief, she would need to mourn not only her friend, but the woman she had been on her wedding day, a woman who had also died that day. In the process of rebuilding a self, Griffiths chronicles her friendship with Moon, the seventeen years since their meeting at Sarah Lawrence College. Together, they embraced their literary foremothers-Lucille Clifton, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, to name a few-and fought to embrace themselves as poets, artists, and Black women. Alongside this unbreakable bond, Griffiths weaves the story of her relationship with Rushdie, of the challenges they have faced and the unshakeable devotion that endures"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

"This singular memoir stunned me. With a poet's precision, Rachel Eliza Griffiths renders two interwoven tragedies few others could have lived through, much less written about with such clear-eyed candor."--Mary Karr, New York Times bestselling author of The Liars' Club

"Elegant and juicy . . . gratifyingly lush . . . An un-self-conscious conveyance of that time in life when nothing is impossible and dreams are jet fuel--but when everything can also seem dire, and heartache unendurable."--The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)

On September 24, 2021, Rachel Eliza Griffiths married her husband, the novelist Salman Rushdie. On the same day, hundreds of miles away, Griffiths' closest friend and chosen sister, the poet Kamilah Aisha Moon, who was expected to speak at the wedding, died suddenly. Eleven months later, as Griffiths attempted to piece together her life as a newlywed with heartbreak in one hand and immense love in the other, a brutal attack nearly killed her husband. As trauma compounded trauma, Griffiths realized that in order to survive her grief, she would need to mourn not only her friend, but the woman she had been on her wedding day, a woman who had also died that day.

In the process of rebuilding a self, Griffiths chronicles her friendship with Moon, the seventeen years since their meeting at Sarah Lawrence College. Together, they embraced their literary foremothers--Lucille Clifton, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, to name a few--and fought to embrace themselves as poets, artists, and Black women. Alongside this unbreakable bond, Griffiths weaves the story of her relationship with Rushdie, of the challenges they have faced and the unshakeable devotion that endures.

In The Flower Bearers, Griffiths inscribes the trajectories of two transformational relationships with grace and honesty, chronicling the beauty and pain that comes with opening oneself fully to love.

Review Quotes

"Elegant and juicy . . . An un-self-conscious conveyance of that time in life when nothing is impossible and dreams are jet fuel--but when everything can also seem dire, and heartache unendurable . . . gratifyingly lush. Griffiths gives us romance and romanticism."--The New York Times

"An open wound of a memoir . . . [Griffiths's] words on the page are as emotionally raw as a primal scream."--The Washington Post

"A propulsive archive of love, loss, and reparation in lineage and sisterhood with those writers whom Griffiths and Moon aligned themselves."--Electric Literature

"Deeply felt . . . Griffiths is a woman of singular stories."--Airmail

"An eloquent tribute to Griffiths's love for Rushdie and for her 'chosen sister' Moon--and a heart-stoppingly vivid account of what it's like to experience intense pleasure and deep pain in such quick succession."--The Times

"Simultaneously a love story, a portrait of sisterhood and a visceral depiction of violence, loss and emotional devastation."--The Guardian

"In writing such a raw and open tribute to courage--Aisha's, Rushdie's, her own, as well as the writers who have gone before--she has reached an accommodation with [her complicated] grief, and found a way to transmute it into poetry."--The Observer

"A deeply felt, expressive book that battles with despair and hope, ever searching for the latter."--The i Paper

"The Flower Bearers is a memoir of duality, of intoxicating love and excruciating loss. Here is a poet plying her tools in the service of literature's most vital work: describing life and how to bear it."--Geraldine Brooks, author of Memorial Days

"In prose as luminous as her verse, Rachel Eliza Griffiths has written a testament to the human spirit's ability to withstand a sundering--and to emerge with a heart made wider by the breaking."--Suleika Jaouad, author of Between Two Kingdoms

"With the sensitivity of an artist and the intimacy of a faithful friend, Griffiths offers us a searing reminder that to live is to insist on love, relentlessly."--Qian Julie Wang, author of Beautiful Country

"This powerful memoir sings at the intersection of female friendship, eldest daughterhood, ravaging grief, surprise romance, and the Black poetry scene."--Quiara Alegría Hudes, author of My Broken Language

"Every page of this book reads like an offering, reminding us how we all endure--and can even bloom--through the beauty and the breaking."--Isaac Fitzgerald, author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts

"Monumental, profound, and gorgeous, The Flower Bearers is a dazzling hat-tip to our iconic literary ancestors--Lorde, Baldwin, Morrison--and poetic tribute to a new one: Moon."--MK Asante, author of Buck: A Memoir

"Unsparing and full-throated."--A. M. Homes, author of The Mistress's Daughter

"Rachel Eliza Griffiths has knitted together, from grief, rage, and love, a remarkable memoir: searching and tender and filled with something like grace."--Christina Sharpe, author of Ordinary Notes

"This profoundly felt account moves between the raw, the lyrical, and the elegiac as it seeks the light of healing."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"In this astounding memoir, Griffiths offers a death-defying loop of triumphant love across life's infernal torments. This is no mere book but a generational blooming."--Canisia Lubrin, author of The Dyzgraphxst

"A beautiful and immensely powerful book about love, grief, and finding a way to be in a forever-altered world."--Julia Samuel, Sunday Times bestselling author of Grief Works: Stories of Life, Death, and Surviving

"Stunning."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"An extraordinary testimonial to an extraordinary friendship."--Booklist, starred review

"Lovers of memoir and of achingly beautiful prose should not miss The Flower Bearers."--BookPage, starred review

About the Author

Rachel Eliza Griffiths is a poet, visual artist, and novelist. She is a recipient of the Hurston/Wright Foundation Legacy Award and the Paterson Poetry Prize and was a finalist for a NAACP Image Award. Griffiths is also a recipient of fellowships from many organizations, including Cave Canem Foundation, Kimbilio, the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and Yaddo. Her work has been published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Tin House, and other publications. Her debut novel, Promise, was a Kirkus Reviews and Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year.