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The Girls

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( 650 ratings, 94 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
In 2005, Chloe Higgins faced unimaginable tragedy when her two younger sisters died in a devastating car accident. The Girls is her raw and unflinching memoir of grief, describing the slow and complex journey through loss and survival. Higgins explores the trauma that reshapes identity and the painful process of moving beyond heartbreak, with a voice both lyrical and direct.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$3799
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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?

Ideal for readers interested in deeply personal memoirs dealing with grief, trauma, and survival, those seeking emotional insight into loss, and fans of literary non-fiction.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

A memoir of enormous power: of family, loss, and sexuality which recalls Kate Holden, Fiona Wright or Sarah Krasnostein.

A memoir of enormous power: of family, loss, and sexuality which recalls Kate Holden, Fiona Wright or Sarah Krasnostein.

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

Higgins spares nothing in her telling of the slow violence of grief, in the puzzlement of transformation and the skewing of sound mind from one instant of catastrophe... An exacting act of detonation, The Girls bares a talented writer's foundations at the same time as it raises the spirit of survival. Kate Holden, author of In My Skin

WINNER OF THE VICTORIAN PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARDS PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD 2020

SHORTLISTED FOR THE VICTORIAN PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARD FOR NON-FICTION 2020

SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY AWARD 2020

In 2005, Chloe Higgins was seventeen years old. She and her mother, Rhonda, stayed home so that she could revise for her exams while her two younger sisters, Carlie and Lisa, went skiing with their father. On the way back from their trip, their car veered off the highway, flipped on its side and burst into flames. Both her sisters were killed. Their father walked away from the accident with only minor injuries.

This book is about what happened next.

In a memoir of breathtaking power, Chloe Higgins describes the heartbreaking aftermath of that one terrible day. It is a story of grieving, and learning to leave grief behind, for anyone who has ever loved, and lost.

MORE PRAISE FOR THE GIRLS

A tender and heartfelt book, exploring the intricacies and long aftermath of trauma and grief with great frankness and directness. Its honest and exacting exploration of what happens to the body and the self in grief is deeply moving, without being excoriating, and the writing is both lyrical and tough - Higgins has a distinctive and accomplished voice, and this book is a beautiful achievement. Fiona Wright

An astounding new voice whose work mines the slippery regions between grief, sex, love, parents and children. This book is a rare find. Felicity Castagna

An urgent, poetic and skinless howl of a book. Lee Kofman

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 book has been praised for its tender and honest portrayal of trauma and grief, with Fiona Wright highlighting its frankness and lyrical toughness. It has been called an astounding and urgent work for its exploration of love, loss, and family, earning accolades and awards in Australia.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781760782238

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 27 August 2019

Country: Australia

Imprint: Picador Australia

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 24.0mm

Width: 156.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 408g

Pages: 320

About the Author

Chloe Higgins writes about the things we're all afraid of: death, sex, love, and how we feel about our mothers. Chloe is the Director of Wollongong Writers Festival, a casual lecturer and tutor in creative writing at the University of Wollongong where she is completing a PhD, and a member of the Finishing School Collective. Originally from south-west Sydney, she now lives in Wollongong and travels the world for three months per year. The Girls, a memoir of family, grief and sexuality, is her debut.

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