Raw. Powerful emotive. I too Had a Brother Once. ❤

This is a raw, honest, brave, intensely personal and unflinching memoir/memorial/poem written by the author to/about his brother who took his own life. Suicide is one of the cruelest deaths because the survivors are left to deal with not only their loss, but the immense questions of why? and could anything have been done to prevent this?This is a remarkable read in that the author, while writing of his own reactions, memories, and attempts to make sense of his brother's decision, captures so cle...

So powerful. The first book I’ve ever wanted to keep to read again.

Heart-felt meditation and tribute to the author's brother as well as insight into the grief and pain for those who grieve loved ones departed through suicide.

As a survivor of suicide, I can say with clarity that this book could change and save your life. Beautifully written and heartbreakingly honest. I read it in one day, and so should you. 5 stars.

This book takes your breath away and is both deeply insightful and profoundly questioning. At times I had to step away, at times compulsively read, and in the end feel grateful the author shared such intense and intimate feelings about his brother.

the things he gave me are totemic & devoid at once. a hand drum from ahmadabad, a costa rican hammock, a cuban baseball jersey, some low red candle holders from the crate & barrel outlet store, a ginger grater heswore by, a wooden molinillo that was a favor at his wedding, a yerba maté gourd & metal straw, a kurta pyjama. on his birthday & the anniversary of his death, i gather a few into a pile & think this, this is all i have left or tell myselfi had a brother once. The subtitle says it all

In a stream of consciousness epic poem and memoir, Adam recalls when his father telephoned that his brother, David, committed suicide; the aftermath; their childhood; his struggles; the grief and anger; the depression; their Jewish ancestry; their grandfather; a book tour; and American jazz drummer Elvin Ray Jones. A life lost just before David turned 40. If only David, David’s wife, and their parents had disclosed David’s depression to him before he died maybe Adam thought he could have prevent...

On the recommendation of a friend, I listened to this. I also followed along with a printed version, to see the words as I listened. I definitely think listening to the author read his own words had a greater impact on me. Sometimes I was really struck by how the author was able to say so much in so few words, and at times, I had to stop the audio so I could re-read a few lines.

Earlier this year I lost my uncle. He died by suicide. He didn’t leave a note. Although I was not as close with my uncle as Adam Mansbach was with his brother, I found this book to be therapeutic. This work was haunting, touching, raw, beautiful...a glimpse into the author’s mind and his grief. I hope this was as therapeutic for Adam to write as it was for me to read. Thank you Adam Mansbach for sharing some of your most intimate thoughts with us to help us all heal. Thank you to Adam Mansbach,

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I do not typically read poetry, but I was in the mood for something real, something different with meaning. This book was not beautiful, it wasn't meant to be. It was real, however, and powerful. It was an author's voice at a different volume. In a different tone and with a different purpose. It was Adam's voice trying to shed the machine that made him successful, and instead, produce...

I was expecting this to break me, and it did not disappoint. Mansbach writes a story that is equally well-crafted and personal. Though the medium of poetry, he shows the reader who his brother David was before, during, and after his death, as well as how he affected those who were left behind. Anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one to suicide can relate to the honesty and reality that Mansbach writes. The only criticism I had against the book is that the chapter breaks were kind of w...

This long-form poem feels like a coping process, a kind of grieving, a figuring out how to live with loss. Something we all need to do, sooner or later, yet it is also amusing in parts. Mansbach carries a certain light quality throughout parts of the poem; a "comedic relief," could say. And why not... that is perhaps the best way to deal with loss, after all. To learn to laugh at it, and at the absurdity of life in general. I wouldn't necessarily call him a great poetic stylist, Mansbach, but th...

Mercifully short and utterly heartbreaking. Listening to the audiobook, I listened to the author's voice literally and figuratively as he processed his grief over his brother's shocking suicide. I would hope (and I believe) that I would have the humanity to empathize with anyone experiencing this kind of pain. But honestly, his expression of his Judaism also spoke to me. Faith or no faith, it is the core of who we are. And at death we seek comfort in ritual. Mr. Mansbach, I am deeply sorry for y...

The subtitle calls this book a poem and a memoir, but it is not quite either. Rather it is a mourner's kaddish for Mansbach's younger brother, David, who took his own life two weeks before the publication of Go the F**k to Sleep. It can be read in an hour, but it took the author a decade to be able to write this book. It is a moving examination/portrayal of his brother and how he processed his death, but it remains something that I cannot truly imagine or comprehend.

A poem and memoir in one, I Had a Brother Once had me in tears on more than one occasion. Well written and touching.

Rewrote my thoughts because it was deeply personal (like this book), and frankly, no one's business. In short, for me, the timing couldn't be more right (or wrong) to read this book. But I have no regrets. Ultimately, it helped out with a great deal of my own struggles, gave me a lot to think about (and talk through with people I consider my support system). Every thought and idea was put into words with care, the entire thing beautifully and sensibly written, and it really shows.

This book was a very unique and devastating experience. Written in longform verse, Mansbach takes us through several stages of his grieving process: the night before he learned of his brothers death, the intense numb grief immediately following, the disbelief, the how you try to continue on with your life and not get sunk, the scrabbling to answers, the long years that his brother will never experience. I felt that the long sentence and poetic format worked especially well in the first section o...

I picked up this book after seeing it on a review list that has recommended other great books, and as I've experienced close-to-home suicide myself, it drew my attention. Unfortunately, I found myself disappointed and wondering halfway through why this seems to be so highly rated. Pros: There are definitely moments of truth and heartache here, but they are mostly little tidbits that you have to dig through the rest for. Cons: Two things really threw me off about this memoir. 1. Why did the autho...

“my father said𝘥𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦& I answered as if I didn’tunderstand or hadn’t heard.my reply was 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵? & herepeated it. there is plenty to regret & perhaps thisis insignificant but I wishI had not made himsay it twice.”On 28 May 2011, two weeks before the release of Adam Mansbach’s bestseller, ‘Go the F**k to Sleep’, his younger brother, David, took his own life. The author, booked on an extensive publicity tour, promoted his children’s book all the while privately grieving this inc...