The Blessing

I am so grateful to Grgory Orr for this memoir, for his poetry, and his book, Poetry as Survival. His writing reinforces my own belief that poetry can be a container for the most painful moments in life. Thank you. Tansy Chapman

Gregory Orr's The Blessing is a moving and powerfully written memoir about his experiences specifically around death and shame and how his 1960s family dealt with tragedy. The title is misleading. Poetry is the blessing, but it isn't introduced until near the end and survival through poetry really isn't what this book is about in this reader's opinion. As a young boy, Orr accidentally shot and killed his younger brother and struggled with guilt through his remaining teen years. His father, a narcissistic and amphetamine-addicted small-town doctor, doesn't help matters by his own selfish adventures and escapes. And his mother, though aloof and distant, is his only hope for parental attachment. But she, too, dies tragically before Orr reaches adulthood. Then, in yet another ironic and tragic turn of events, Orr finds himself barely escaping death as he participates in civil rights activism in the Deep South. Most effective is Orr's use of language to capture internal and emotional conflict.

This book is shocking in its stark retelling of an emotionally brutal childhood. I was drawn in instantly. I found myself holding my breath and staring into the room at the conclusion of a page. I was stunned. The moments of the story have lingered with me. My mind poured over the events. Later even after I had moved on to other thoughts, the emotions lingered under my thoughts, so that I would often pause in the middle of doing tasks. The writer seems to be seeking peace through resurrection and forgiveness.

This book is shocking in its stark retelling of an emotionally brutal childhood. I was drawn in instantly. I found myself holding my breath and staring into the room at the conclusion of a page. I was stunned. The moments of the story have lingered with me. My mind poured over the events. Later even after I had moved on to other thoughts, the emotions lingered under my thoughts, so that I would often pause in the middle of doing tasks. The writer seems to be seeking peace through resurrection and forgiveness.

Orr's book is an amazing chronicle of his early years, and an essential window into how art - in this case poetry - can play an important role in survival and transformation. The writing is clear and forceful. Highly recommended for anyone interested in memoir.