Wet Wound: An Elegy in Essays

This debut essay collection is inspired by the grief Maddie Norris experienced in the wake of her father’s death from cancer when she was seventeen. Norris uses a medical lens to examine the anguish that followed and likens mourning to wound care.

These linked essays examine grief from different angles, resulting in a multilayered exploration of why, contrary to popular belief, keeping wounds open is the best way to care for them physically and emotionally. Norris approaches the narrative through various topics–the investigation of body preservation, the history of skin grafts, and a deep dive into physical pain–all of them related to how she carries this fundamental loss.

By centering on the importance of mourning (a long-term practice frowned upon in Western culture), the essays unsettle conventional wisdom as the text pushes against the stereotypical notion of “letting go” and “moving on.” The Wet Wound: An Elegy in Essays thus unpacks the question: What happens when, instead of following steps prescribed by those outside loss, we let ourselves dwell in grief?

Author: Maddie Norris
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Published: 03/15/2024
Series: Crux: The Georgia Literary Nonfiction
Pages: 192
Weight: 0.54lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.44d
ISBN: 9780820366685
Language: English