Washing My Mother's Body - Joy Harjo

A beautifully illustrated edition of Poet Laureate Joy Harjo's poem Washing My Mother's Body, which offers a way through grief when the loss appears unbearable. \nAs I wash my mother's face, I tell her \nhow beautiful she is, how brave, how her beauty and bravery \nlive on in her grandchildren. Her face is relaxed, peaceful. \nHer earth memory body has not left yet, \nbut when I see her the next day, embalmed and in the casket \nin the funeral home, it will be gone. \nWhere does it go? \n \nThrough lyrical prose and evocative watercolor illustrations by award-winning Muscogee artist Dana Tiger, Washing My Mother's Body explores the complexity of a daughter's grief as she reflects on the joys and sorrows of her mother's life. She lays her mother to rest in the landscape of her memory, honoring the hands that raised her, the body that protected her, and the legs that carried her mother through adversity. \n \nMoving, comforting, and deeply emotional, Washing My Mother's Body is a tender look at mother-daughter relationships, the complexity of grieving the loss of a parent, and the enduring love of those left behind.\n