New Novel by Holy Cross English Professor Earns International Acclaim

Leah Hager Cohen, critically acclaimed nonfiction writer and novelist, and the College of the Holy Cross Jenks Chair of Contemporary American Letters, has written a new novel, The Grief of Others (Riverhead), which hit shelves on Sept. 15.  It has already been chosen as Oprah’s Book of the Week and graced the cover of the New York Times Book Review, which claims the novel "is her best work yet."

The Grief of Others begins with the death of a baby, the third child of Ricky and John Ryrie, just hours after its birth.  When John discovers a shocking secret that Ricky had concealed from him about the pregnancy, long-suppressed doubts about their relationship begin to erupt, shaking their entire family to the core. In the end, the Ryries discover that it is the unexpected power of grief that has not only alienated them, but is also what tethers them to one another—and to humanity as a whole.

The San Francisco Chronicle writes “Cohen's empathy is sure-footed and seemingly boundless; her writing gifts its characters with glints of ordinary human radiance. It is the possibility of this glinting that ultimately becomes Cohen's most powerful gift to us, her readers, as well.”

Cohen is the author of four books of narrative non-fiction including Train Go Sorry (Houghton Mifflin, 1994) and Glass, Paper, Beans (Doubleday, 1997); and four novels including House Lights (W. W. Norton & Company, 2007).  Four of her works have been awarded Notable Book citations from The New York Times and she has received recognition from the American Library Association, The Toronto Globe and Mail, and Booksense. She is a frequent contributor to the New York Times Book Review.