{"product_id":"the-first-649-days-essays-and-other-acts-of-love-paperback","title":"The First 649 Days: Essays and Other Acts of Love - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eEric Lemay\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA stirring collection from one of the form's most widely praised innovators\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow do we wrestle with unimaginable loss? How does love open us to new worlds and even new versions of ourselves? In \u003ci\u003eThe First 649 Days\u003c\/i\u003e, Eric LeMay explores the everyday moments and momentous events that make and unmake our lives, from the birth of a child to mass death in a global pandemic to finding a home and comfort among the fields and forests of Appalachian Ohio.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUsing forms as diverse as journal entries, cell phone texts, children's picture books, and erasure poems, LeMay wrestles with questions of illness, isolation, identity, grief, family, and love because, like so many us, he's had to live them. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 when his first child was a little over a year old. He learned during the worst month of the COVID-19 pandemic that his 80-year-old father, unable to breathe, had been admitted to the emergency room in the middle of the night. Would he live? And if not? In these richly varied essays, LeMay helps us make our way, personally and collectively, through experiences that may be our last, all the while honoring those \"firsts\"--the first cry, the first word, the first day of school.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith remarkable humor and candor, LeMay explores how we grieve, how we grow, and how the gardens we plant, the children we raise, and the words we share lead us more deeply into our own lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEric LeMay\u003c\/strong\u003e is a multimedia artist and writer currently in remission from cancer. He is on the faculty at Ohio University, where he directs the creative writing program. He is also a host on the New Books Network. He is the author of five books, and his work has appeared in \u003cem\u003eThe Paris Review\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePoetry Daily\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eBest Food Writing\u003c\/em\u003e series, and other venues.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 256\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.81 x 9.03 x 6.25 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 14, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52091050164525,"sku":"9781606355060","price":28.28,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/dyMvcLJRdv9781606355060.webp?v=1779871838","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/the-first-649-days-essays-and-other-acts-of-love-paperback","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}