The Shame of Losing

(Paperback)

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2019 Washington State Book Awards Finalist in Biography & Memoir

On the morning before Halloween in 2007, Sarah receives a phone call from her husband's arborist colleague: Matt, her spouse of seven years and father of their two small children, has been severely injured by a falling tree branch while working in a neighborhood east of Seattle. Visions of their future go dark as she learns to care for the man she depended on for support. Faced with choices about how to behave through this unexpected journey, she takes as many steps back as she does forward and begins a rite of passage she never imagined.

Reviews

"With Losing, Cannon is rejecting that kind of superimposition. Shes trying to do justice to the reality of the situation while still building a narrative she can live with around it. Shes trying to be true to her husband while breaking her vows. Shes sharing her story with you while still keeping the integrity of her story intact. Every human contract has a flaw built into it. Cannon is trying to find a way to embrace that flaw, to turn it into a strength, and to find the honesty embedded within the lie. The drama of Losing is in watching her come to terms with that gap and to incorporate it into her story as best she can." Paul Constant, Seattle Review of Books Sarah Cannons memoir navigates traumas juggernaut in a way so compelling the reader witnesses the opening catastrophe first hand through the lens of her experience. This sense of attunement to her journey continues throughout the aftermath of the initial crisis. Over time Sarah comes to know herself within the context of her profoundly altered life. With fierce unflinching grist she faces the unrelenting learning her struggle demands and emerges with discerning hard won clarity. Her courage is palpable and inspires.Joan Fiset, author of Namesake In The Shame of Losing, Sarah Cannon captures the roller coaster from heartbreak to hope; from despondence to renewal, that she and her family have been riding since that instant when everything changed. This is a book about the brutal realities of a traumatic brain injury; but it is also about a young mother trying to save her own life. Honest, poetic; stark and stunning: a debut memoir that you will never forget.Ann Hedreen, author of Her Beautiful Brain This is an unforgettable story of a full-time witness to trauma and its aftershocks. With refreshing candor and a brilliant sense of humor, Sarah takes us through the maze of caring for a loved one who has suffered a traumatic brain injury and reckons deeply with what her own recovery should look like. This book will stay with me for a long time. Leigh Stein, author of Land of Enchantment Review in Punctuate https://www.pifmagazine.com/2019/02/letting-go-of-the-shame-of-losing-an-interview-with-the-writer-sarah-cannon/

Author Bio

Sarah Cannon grew up in the north-end suburbs of Seattle, and graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Spanish. She earned her MFA from Goddard College in 2014. Her essays have been featured in The New York Times, Salon.com, Bitch Magazine, and more.