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Reviewed by Carol Thompson for Readers' Favorite
Our Lives in Pieces: A Collection of Flash Memoir Essays by Tracie Adams presents a poignant and skillfully crafted mosaic of personal narratives that examine themes of grief, memory, resilience, and grace. Each short essay acts as a piece in a larger puzzle, shaped by pain, humor, longing, and the hope that emerges when the fragmented parts of life are tenderly pieced together. The book is structured into four thematic sections—Shattered, Tattered, Mattered, and Flattered—reflecting the emotional journey from trauma to healing. In “Shattered,” the essays detail significant personal losses, such as the gradual decline of a loved one due to illness or the sudden and solitary death of an unidentified veteran in hospice. Adams uses vivid imagery and sensory descriptions to animate these experiences, using metaphors like fireflies, glass globes, and snow globes to deepen the emotional impact.
Throughout the collection, Tracie Adams invites the reader to sit with discomfort, yet she always offers a thread of hope. Her voice remains intimate and courageous, balancing confessional vulnerability with poetic insight. Faith and spirituality gently underscore the narratives, not in a dogmatic sense, but as part of the author’s worldview. The influence of the Japanese art of kintsugi, introduced in the prologue, serves as the book’s guiding metaphor: brokenness repaired with beauty, making each person’s story more complete for having endured and survived. This collection best suits readers who appreciate deeply personal nonfiction told with lyrical precision, as found in high-caliber literary journals like “Subnivean.” Adams’s essays are honest and evocative, ideal for those who find comfort in reflective writing and seek to understand the sacred in everyday moments. Our Lives in Pieces is a heartfelt tribute to the strength found in fragility and the light that seeps through the cracks.
