Loss and Grief

The collection explores the emotional effects of loss and grief within the short stories “Wednesday’s Child,” “Let Mothers Doubt,” “Alone,” and “When We Were Happy We had Other Names.” While each of these short stories possesses different narrative rules, conflicts, and stakes, all four of the stories’ protagonists are struggling to reconcile with the people they have lost and the sorrow they feel as a result. In “Wednesday’s Child,” Rosalie’s daughter Marcie’s death by suicide complicates how she sees herself as both a mother and a daughter. In “Let Mothers Doubt,” Narantuyaa’s brother Jullian’s death causes her to experience protracted grief and guilt that distorts her sense of reality and of self. In “Alone,” Suchen’s five friends’ deaths by suicide haunt her throughout her childhood and adulthood. Her unresolved grief precludes her from engaging with life and...