The Crying Book

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The Crying Book, by Heather Christle: Episode 3

Episode 1

Episode 3

The Crying Book, by Heather Christle

BBC Radio 4 - The Crying Book, by Heather Christle, Episode 3

Poet Heather Christle meditates on how and why we cry.

A young Black man is shot by the police in Walmart, prompting poet Heather Christle to consider the power and meaning of “white lady tears”.

Shedding tears is a universal human experience, but why and how do we cry?

American poet Heather Christle has lost a dear friend to suicide and must now reckon with her own depression. In this personal, lyrical book she faces her grief by researching the act of crying.

In her Ohio home, Heather assembles a “crybrary” in which she investigates the science and art of tears - from their chemical composition to their depiction in literature. She even mines the Internet for folklore and remedies.

Moving deftly between poetry and prose, she lays bare her own experience. She recalls crying in a car after being dumped, lying in tears on the bathroom floor after an argument with her husband, and her mother’s tears as she revisits traumatic family history.

The Crying Book is an honest, thought-provoking and surprising reflection on life, loss and mental illness.

In this third episode, a friend and fellow poet dies, prompting Heather to turn to the Internet for remedies against tears. Her investigation of crying becomes political when a young Black man is shot by the police in Walmart, prompting her to consider the power and meaning of “white lady tears”.

Abridged by Joanne Rowntree
Produced by Miranda Hinkley
Assistant Producer Alexandra Quinn
Read by Alexandra Metaxa, featuring Paterson Joseph, Alibe Parsons and Oliver Soden.
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4

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Book of the Week. American poet Heather Christle draws on scientific research, as well as her own experience, to investigate how and why we cry.

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The Crying Book, by Heather Christle

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