In her author’s note to the book, Marion Winik writes that in Mexico on the Day of the Dead, “people build altars to their loved ones . . . they go to the cemetery and stay all night, praying, singing, drinking, wailing. They tell the sad stories and the noble ones; they eat cookies shaped like skeletons. They celebrate and mourn at once.”

Striking that balance, The Glen Rock Book of the Dead presents snapshot portraits of The Jeweler, The Driving Instructor, The Bad Influence—and roughly fifty others who have touched Winik’s life in some way, from her son’s second-grade teacher to Keith Haring. Winik ties these portraits together with observations that strike chords of both loss and joy—forming not only an autobiography but a story of our time.

Known for the honesty that made her debut memoir, First Comes Love, so riveting and powerful, Winik taps into the rich territory of her own life yet again to deliver a lyrical journey that ultimately raises the spirits.