Eve Joseph was born in 1953 and grew up in Vancouver. She worked on a freighter as a young woman and traveled widely. She is the author of two earlier books, The Startled Heart and The Secret Signature of Things, has won awards for her poetry, and has published essays and poems in anthologies, chapbooks, journals, and magazines, including Twelve Breaths a Minute and You Can't Make This Stuff Up, edited by Lee Gutkind; The Malahat Review, and The American Journal of Poetry. Eve Joseph resides in Victoria on Vancouver Island, Canada.
#17 on Publishers Weekly iBooks US Bestseller List - Health, Mind &
Body
Eve Joseph is quite simply a remarkable writer. Not only does she
capture the painful and peaceful intimacy of death and dying in her
book, In the Slender Margin, but she fuses together the stark
reality of today’s healthcare system, with Hindu philosophy, great
literature, lyrical poetry, world history and moreall linked with
searing and unforgettable personal reflections.” Lee Gutkind,
editor, creative nonfiction
"Exceptional . . . [As a hospice worker, Joseph] called on
everything in her experience in order to be with the dying. We can
be grateful for that work, calling upon everything to give sorrow a
voice."Vancouver Sun
"Intricate and beautiful . . . Provides an intimate language for
grief and makes death a site of wonder as much as pain. . . . In
her careful prose, her encounters with the dead, dying and mourning
take on a kind of grace."National Post
In the Slender Margin is intended as an exploration rather than a
balm or solace, though it will no doubt be those things for some
people. Its resonance comes, rather, from its intelligent
open-endedness, its unflinching, simultaneous embrace of death’s
reality and persistent mystery.”Globe and Mail
A fine blend of memoir, contemplation, and reporting by a woman
who spent more than 20 years as a counselor in a Victoria, British
Columbia, hospice. Joseph, an award-winning Canadian poet, explores
the interconnections between death, language, and art. . . . The
author writes with humor and grace, lines of other poets appear
frequently in her text, and references to films, books, plays, and
pop music abound. . . . This is not a how-to book, however;
grieving readers will not find a road map to closure, but they can
join a curious mind in a journey of exploration. A literate,
free-association meditation on the final fact of life.” Kirkus
Reviews
Luminous . . . Readers will discover an entire book full of such
intuitive and satisfying musings.” Publishers Weekly
Eve Joseph has a poet’s sensibility, a well-stocked mind, a sturdy
practicality and a wry sense of humor. She’s also a born
storyteller. For all these reasons, I can’t think of a better
companion for the tricky, profound territory between life and
deaththe slender margin.” Katherine Ashenburg, author of The
Mourner’s Dance: What We Do When People Die
Elegant, coruscating and wise.” Dionne Brand
Like all great writers, Eve Joseph uses memory, research, and
experience to explore the unknown. Her subject is deaththe biggest
mystery of all. A memoir based on the early death of her brother
and the twenty years she spent working in palliative care, In the
Slender Margin is a wise and lyrical meditation. Drawing on
literature and memorial traditions and practices from around the
world, this engaging book opens a conversation with readers that
lingers long after the last page is turned.” Sandra Martin, author
of Working the Deadbeat: 50 Lives that Changed Canada
With a poet's honest eye, from decades on the slender margin, Eve
Joseph has done the miraculous, shining a light into everyone’s
ultimate darkness. Her quest is respectful, wise, and contagious.
In all seriousness, I have never enjoyed death so much.” Bill
Gaston, author of The World and Juliet Was a Surprise
"Offering both practicality and an exceptional sensitivity to the
inherently confounding subject of death, In the Slender Margin is a
soothing balm to any readergrieving or not." PsychCentral.com
A compelling and breathtaking memoir about death and the end of
life . . . It is accessible yet intimately personal. The book will
be a comfort to readers who must confront death, either their own
or as a survivor trying to grieve when faced with devastating
loss.” Healthy Lives Matter
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