The Light Streamed Beneath It by Shawn Hitchins. Advance Reader Copy (eARC) from the publisher via Netgalley included. No affiliate links used. Read my full disclosure policy here.
“Sometimes we must let ourselves feel haunted to propel us towards the safety of others.”
Describing a memoir about grief as a joy to read sounds strange, but that’s how I feel about The Light Streamed Beneath It by Shawn Hitchins. The subtitle, A Memoir of Grief and Celebration, indicates what to expect, so maybe “a joy to read” isn’t so strange a description after all.
In the space of five months, Shawn loses two men he loved. Matt, Shawn’s former common-law husband, dies following an accident. David, Shawn’s former boyfriend, dies as a result of suicide.
Yes, The Light Streamed Beneath It is about grief. But it is also a story about queerness, love, friendship, chosen families, long-distance relationships, connection, discovery, and rediscovery of the fact that life carries on following a bereavement. You are changed irrevocably, but the world keeps spinning, so you must relearn to experience life.
Grief can be a profoundly isolating experience, even while surrounded by others grieving the same person. Grief is also a communal experience, which can be incredibly healing. With The Light Streamed Beneath It, Shawn Hitchins captures the reality that both can be true simultaneously.
The Light Streamed Beneath It by Shawn Hitchins is published by ECW Press and is available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook format.
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