The Flower Bearers

“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