On a long recent flight, I read Jessica Stanley’s reading material Think of yourself being kissed Sitting at once. Without giving too much, the book begins with the man in 2022 and begins with a woman, then returns to 2013, moving slowly. However, the story is so detailed and obsessed that by the time I returned to 2022 I completely forgot what I had learned in the first few pages. Cue tears in sheet 14a. If you’re in the mood for an emotional reading, I asked four women to share a book that shed tears…
Sanae Lemoinenovelist and cooking writer
Are you a big creative?
I had a divorce that long ago, so I cried almost every day in my private life and in general. But in general, I don’t cry much, and books rarely make me cry. So when that happens it’s pretty special.
Sanae’s Bookshelf
Do you remember the first book that made you cry?
In university, I read it Norwegian Tree Murakami Haru and The year of magical thinking By Joan Didion the same week. It was my sophomore year and my boyfriend was just broken with me. The book was assigned two different classes of reading material and sobbed reading them on the floor of my room. They were about grief and loss, and although my heartbreak felt very small in comparison, they provided the exact comfort I needed.
Have you read any books you cried recently?
A few weeks ago, I cried on the subway when I finished Dinaw Mengetsu’s exceptional novel People like us. As memories and dialogue weaves together, there is layering and cyclicality that combine over time – it feels magical. Then there is dialogue, unadorned but full of emotions.
Also, Small rain By Garth Greenwell – Narrator has near-death medical emergency, so it is mostly held in hospitals for a week. What surprised me was the love story between the narrator and his partner. How concrete and universal was their love? It was fragile, soft and resilient.
Katie Stulinoand founder of Megababe Novelist
Do you cry a lot?
I am a huge creator in my daily life, so I can only imagine that I am influenced by books. My mother and I read All the demons are here We had to take over my husband, John, as Louise Penny yelled out last summer and neither of us could speak.
Katie’s Night Stand
What book has made you cry recently?
I’m an audiobook guy, and I’m amazing Not my type: one woman vs. president E. Jean Carroll [about sexual abuse and defamation by Trump] It was hard to listen. I listen to books when I’m walking outside, and I highly recommend this book, even if it means crying in public!
Then a few weeks ago I read and cried out My own Books, Sunny side. At a book launch event in Boston, I read a paragraph about our numbers rewriting our stories. Is it strange to cry at your own work? I hope I don’t. I felt that it was something that many people could relate to, and I was proud to write it.
Jamia WilsonRandom House author and executive editor
Are you a big creative?
I feel it deeply, and when the story hits the nerves, I hold an ugly grip. Recently I shed tears of joy as I reread Amazing woman By Maya Angelou. Hiding inside, I found a beautiful note from my late mother Freda, written in 1995. In it, she expressed her love and gratitude for the woman I was 15 years old.
A worn-out copy of Jamia
What other book made you cry?
I remember reading Bell Hook The wounds of passion During the 2000 overseas semester, I was on a bus from Siena to Rome. I cry throughout the journey, highlighting the pages of the passages, dog owners, and up the disc man Steal beauty Soundtrack. There was a wise page saying that this book will be a lifelong guide. Since then I have reread it at least 20 times and cry every time.
What’s your most recent book that made you cry?
I will not turn back By Alba de Céspedes. Set in Fascist Italy during World War II, the story draws from her own experiences and shows the quiet strength and difficult choices of ordinary women who resist oppression, and reminds us of how courage in everyday acts is essential in the fight against authoritarianism. I felt that this hopeful yet rebellious book’s deep historical roots and urgent call to continue fighting for justice and freedom were deeply connected to the struggles we face today.
Alisha Ramoscreator of the Downtime Newsletter
Are you a big creative?
In general, I’m a pretty stoic person.
So has the book ever made you cry?
I’m crying at H Mart Michelle Sauner is one. It is a beautiful, raw memoir that tells the story of the author’s experiences of caring for his mother after a cancer diagnosis. I vividly remember the scene where my mother screams from the next room, “Apeoyo, Apeoyo” (“It hurts, it hurts”). It moved me to tears, especially like I thought about my mother, who is Korean.
What was the last book that made you cry?
Sadness and bliss Meg Mason, a book on mental health (particularly). It felt so realistic and helped me to feel like I saw it in the dark. I both laughed and cried.
What book made you cry? Where were you? I’m easy, but people I tend to cry on the plane.
My favourite books on PS and five things I noticed at NYC bookstores.
(Photobook Case Photos Alpha Smoot From Joanna’s first Brooklyn apartment. Sanaë Photos Julia Robbs For Joe’s cup. Katie and Jamia Photos Christine Han For Joe’s cup. From pictures of sadness and bliss Instagram. Other photos provided by subjects. )
Source: Cup of Jo – cupofjo.com
