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Washing My Mother's Body: A Ceremony for Grief

AUTHOR Harjo, Joy
PUBLISHER Ten Speed Press (04/01/2025)
PRODUCT TYPE Hardcover (Hardcover)

Description
A beautifully illustrated edition of Poet Laureate Joy Harjo's poem "Washing My Mother's Body," which offers a way through grief when the loss appears unbearable.

As I wash my mother's face, I tell her
how beautiful she is, how brave, how her beauty and bravery
live on in her grandchildren. Her face is relaxed, peaceful.
Her earth memory body has not left yet,
but when I see her the next day, embalmed and in the casket
in the funeral home, it will be gone.
Where does it go?

Through lyrical prose and evocative watercolor illustrations by award-winning Muscogee artist Dana Tiger, Washing My Mother's Body explores the complexity of a daughter's grief as she reflects on the joys and sorrows of her mother's life. She lays her mother to rest in the landscape of her memory, honoring the hands that raised her, the body that protected her, and the legs that carried her mother through adversity.

Moving, comforting, and deeply emotional, Washing My Mother's Body is a tender look at mother-daughter relationships, the complexity of grieving the loss of a parent, and the enduring love of those left behind.

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Product Format
Product Details
ISBN-13: 9781984861368
ISBN-10: 1984861360
Binding: Hardback or Cased Book (Sewn)
Content Language: English
More Product Details
Page Count: 80
Carton Quantity: 48
Product Dimensions: 5.88 x 0.57 x 7.82 inches
Weight: 0.60 pound(s)
Feature Codes: Price on Product, Illustrated
Country of Origin: CN
Subject Information
BISAC Categories
Poetry | Native American
Poetry | Subjects & Themes - Death, Grief, Loss
Poetry | Subjects & Themes - Family
Dewey Decimal: 811.54
Library of Congress Control Number: 2024947233
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
publisher marketing
A beautifully illustrated edition of Poet Laureate Joy Harjo's poem "Washing My Mother's Body," which offers a way through grief when the loss appears unbearable.

As I wash my mother's face, I tell her
how beautiful she is, how brave, how her beauty and bravery
live on in her grandchildren. Her face is relaxed, peaceful.
Her earth memory body has not left yet,
but when I see her the next day, embalmed and in the casket
in the funeral home, it will be gone.
Where does it go?

Through lyrical prose and evocative watercolor illustrations by award-winning Muscogee artist Dana Tiger, Washing My Mother's Body explores the complexity of a daughter's grief as she reflects on the joys and sorrows of her mother's life. She lays her mother to rest in the landscape of her memory, honoring the hands that raised her, the body that protected her, and the legs that carried her mother through adversity.

Moving, comforting, and deeply emotional, Washing My Mother's Body is a tender look at mother-daughter relationships, the complexity of grieving the loss of a parent, and the enduring love of those left behind.

Show More
List Price $17.99
Your Price  $17.81
Hardcover