Sloane Crosley is one of my favorite writers. She is an essayist in the Nora Ephron, David Sedaris tradition. I have read everything she has had published which includes 2 books of fiction. I enjoy her non fiction more. This book is a tough one because it deals with the suicide of her best friend and former boss Russell. He was 52 when he died by hanging himself. Sloane had no inkling of anything that would have led to his suicide. Crosley uses the loss of jewelry that occurred the month before Russell's death to create a tie in between the loss of possessions and loss of people. She uses her amazing writing ability to create humorous lines that are gems and soften the subject matter but doing so without taking away from the profound loss of her best friend. Reading a book like this helps give you perspective in dealing with something that we all have to face. She does a great job of letting feel how important Russell was to her and all his good and bad.This book is a good introduction to Crosley because you get to see her great writing while getting a lesson on grief. ( )

This book mainly about 2 major losses the author experienced within a month had many good qoutes and some good ideas. However, the information presented was so scattered it detracted greatly from the text. The author's style was such that I found it very difficult to connect or empathizer with her. I also prefer not to utilize substances to deal with calamities, and that also may have been the reason. ( )

Having recently read Crosley's Cult Classic, I could not help but compare the two, despite that being fiction and this being non-fiction; while I fell that her friend was the inspiration for the catalyst in Cult Classic, this book is far superior with compelling writing with many nods to Joan Didion. ( )