Molly

A gripping, unforgettable memoir from one of the best, most original writers of the 21st century. Blake Butler and Molly Brodak connected almost instantly. Two singular writers, each grappling with a degree of personal extremity and uncertainty, connected via mutual artistic admiration and an appreciation of each other’s idiosyncrasies. Over the next ten years, they corresponded, fell in love, and built a home together. Just shy of three years into their marriage, struggling with mental illness and a lifetime of trauma, Molly took her own life. In the days after Molly’s death, parceling through their home, Blake discovered a part of his wife’s life that he knew nothing about, and which fundamentally shaped his understanding of their relationship. Molly is an account of a marriage ended by suicide and of what it means to live and continue on without the person you made a life with. It’s also an attempt at understanding - at reconciling the aspects of a life that unfurl in secret and at contending and coming to terms with the tenderness and cruelty of someone who has passed into the unknowable. Fearless and honest above all, Blake Butler’s memoir confronts unthinkable loss with empathy and openness.