200,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿 

Black Friday Sale on Now! Save up to 25% off Books, Toys, Board Games, & Puzzles! ✨

The Bright Hour

A Memoir of Living and Dying
4.3 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 18,990 ratings, 2,534 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Bright Hour is a poignant memoir by Nina Riggs, who recounts her journey living with terminal cancer. With a poignant mix of humour and grace, she explores the complexities of facing mortality, examining everyday moments with profound insight. Her reflections provide both a celebration of life and a meditation on the inevitability of death, leaving readers inspired by the resilience of the human spirit.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3500
Elsewhere:
$3800
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate poignant and reflective memoirs that explore themes of life, love, and loss. It offers an intimate and beautifully written journey through the author's experiences with terminal illness, woven with insights that find beauty and meaning even in the toughest times. Ideal for readers drawn to heartfelt stories of resilience and finding brightness in the everyday.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In 2015, poet and writer Nina Riggs was diagnosed with breast cancer, which metastasised later that year. She was thirty-eight years old, married to the love of her life and the mother of two small boys; her mother had died only a few months earlier from multiple myeloma.

The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying is Nina's intimate, unflinching account of 'living with death in the room'. She tells her story in a series of absurd, poignant and often hilarious vignettes drawn from a life that has 'no real future or arc left to it, yet still goes on as if it does'.

This unforgettable memoir leads the reader into the innermost chambers of the writer's life: into the mind and heart, the work and home, and family, of a young woman alternately seeking to make peace with and raging against the reality of her approaching death.

Nina Riggs received her MFA in poetry in 2004 and published a book of poems, Lucky, Lucky, in 2009. She wrote about life with metastatic breast cancer on her blog, Suspicious Country; her recent work appeared in the Washington Post and the New York Times. She lived with her husband, sons, and dogs in Greensboro, North Carolina.

suspiciouscountry.wordpress.com

"Stunning... heartrending... this year's When Breath Becomes Air." - Nora Krug, The Washington Post

"Beautiful and haunting." - Matt McCarthy, MD, USA TODAY

"Deeply affecting... simultaneously heartbreaking and funny." - People (Book of the Week)

"Vivid, immediate." - Laura Collins-Hughes, The Boston Globe

Starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and Library Journal.

Most Anticipated Summer Reading Selection by The Washington Post, Glamour, The Seattle Times, InStyle.com, Bookpage.com, Bookriot.com, Real Simple, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs has been praised as a stunning and heart-rending memoir, often compared to 'When Breath Becomes Air.' Reviewers highlight its blend of humour, insight, and poetic writing that confronts terminal illness while celebrating life. It's described as emotionally clear and powerful, filled with love and the richness of human experience, resonating as an instant classic in the memoir genre.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781925498493

Publisher: Text Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 19 June 2017

Country: Australia

Imprint: The Text Publishing Company

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 288

About the Author

Nina Riggs received her MFA in poetry in 2004 and published a book of poems, Lucky, Lucky, in 2009. She wrote about life with metastatic breast cancer on her blog, Suspicious Country; her recent work appeared in the Washington Post and the New York Times. She lived with her husband and sons and dogs in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Browse lists from our team

More from Biography & Memoir

View all
  • New Release
    One Helluva Ride
    "This book is about where I came from, what I fought against, and what I chose formyself. Fame can blur the truth; this is my attempt to bring it back into focus." A legendary actor and Hollywood Icon whose five-decade career spans film, television,and producing, Michael Douglas has won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, fiveGolden Globes, a Primetime Emmy,...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    A Life in Lyrics
    Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest showmen of the twentieth century. With his unparalleled voice and searing on-stage energy, he was a great pretender, a killer queen and a champion of the world. But behind the glamour lived a musician and lyricist talented beyond measure, and the creative force behind one of the most culturally significant and musically diverse...
    Hardback
    $5000
    Elsewhere:
    $6500
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Nothing to Lose
    New Release
    Nothing to Lose
    There's no one as dangerous as someone who believes they have nothing to lose. Eight years ago, Nix Adams started posting videos on Facebook while she was freshly out of jail, in order to show her kids that she was sober and on the path back to them. It was after her youngest child, Alaska, died suddenly of a virus...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It?
    The book we've all been waiting for, national treasure Judi Dench opens her almost inexhaustible collection of memories from life and acting. Join Judi as she lifts the curtain on cherished memories and hilarious anecdotes from seven decades of performing with some of the greatest names in theatre. Step behind the camera as she reprises her most famous roles, such...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Drive
    New Release
    Drive
    A thrilling, candid and uncompromising memoir covering over twenty-years at the pinnacle of Formula 1, Drive sees Christian Horner, one of the sport’s biggest characters, take readers into the heart of Red Bull Racing as he reflects on his extraordinary career. For over twenty years Christian Horner built and ran Red Bull Racing, transforming a rookie team acquired for £1 into one...
    Paperback
    $3999
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Book cover for 'Swan Song: Diana, my sister' by Charles Spencer, featuring a black-and-white portrait of Diana with white and gold text on a gray background.
    On Sale
    18% off
    New Release
    Swan Song
    Beautiful. Beloved. Hunted. The extraordinary life and death of Diana, as told by her brother, Charles – available to pre-order now. ‘When asked, ‘What was it like, growing up with Diana?’, my first thought is always, But I don’t know what it was like not to grow up with her…’ In September 1997, Charles Spencer stood in Westminster Abbey before...
    Hardback
    $4500
    Elsewhere:
    $6500
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    Fictional Selves
    From the beloved actor and star of Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Sex and the City comes a candid and deeply personal memoir. In this highly anticipated memoir, the beloved actor and star of Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Sex and the City and more shares his utterly original account of his offbeat journey in Hollywood, his battles with fear and...
    Hardback
    $4799
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • New Release
    The Steps
    The long-awaited memoir from a true Hollywood icon. We know Sylvester Stallone as one of the most revered actors, writers, and directors of all time, yet his life story is every bit as dramatic, intense, and inspiring as his greatest creations on screen. Bringing together a no-holds-barred account of a fascinating life with messages of hope, positivity, and resilience, in...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    12% off
    New Release
    Home Again
    Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoir Home Again.This is more than a rock story. Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it. From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this...
    Paperback
    $2800
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    24% off
    Dogs, Boys and Other Things I've Cried About
    From the social media superstar behind @SimonSits, Isabel Klee--known for her heartwarming tales of dog rescue--comes an utterly winning memoir about a twentysomething woman's search for true love in New York City and the dogs who helped her find it. A Jersey girl by birth, Isabel Klee had always wanted to live in New York City. At age 20, she...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    12% off
    Famesick
    Chronicling the tumultuous decade between the premiere of Girls to her 2021 shotgun wedding (minus the baby, because she has no uterus), Lena Dunham takes us through her journey with her trademark mix of humor, unsparing honesty, and keen eye for detail. We peek behind the scenes - of her work, her family, her relationships, and her battle to reclaim her body...
    Paperback
    $2900
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • On Sale
    25% off
    This Angry Pen of Mine
    This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...
    Hardback
    $5500
    Elsewhere:
    $8999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 200,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.