Jo Ann Beard

Cheri has been living with cancer for many years. Now, she is dying. As she navigates the final weeks of her life and takes charge of the manner of her death, she is flooded with childhood memories and returns to the present with a renewed appreciation for the brilliance of life around her: the autumn has never been so beautiful,...

Weaving a complex tapestry drawn from interviews, anecdotes, moments from Beard's own life, and sheer imagination, these extraordinary pieces embody the hospitality of spectacular writing: they are spaces you fall into and are reluctant to leave. From the intimate drama of everyday life—school crushes, dog clinics, divorce—to the terror and excitement of a fox lurking by a campsite or a...

A New York Times Notable Book A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice A Boston Globe and LitHub Best Book of the Year When "The Fourth State of Matter," her now famous piece about a workplace massacre at the University of Iowa was published in The New Yorker, Jo Ann Beard immediately became one of the most influential writers...