Staying

`A wounded, lovely, luminous book about grief, trauma and the strange healing potential of words.' -- Tim Winton
`A work of shining brilliance.' -- Romy Ash
`Staying aches and pulses with life...Cole is a writer of immense talent.' -- Anna Krien
`Staying is a well-written, extremely moving memoir that steers resolutely clear of stereotypes and self-pity...For all the darkness, there is light too. Cole is a gifted writer with a sensual turn of phrase, and her exploration of the reverberating effects of suicide is both illuminating and absorbing. It will appeal to readers who loved her previous novels.' * Books+Publishing *
`This touching memoir from Australian author Jessie Cole, whose childhood was irrevocably changed when her sister committed suicide, offers a rare personal take on unthinkable tragedy.' * Elle *
`Graceful, revealing, pitch perfect. Cole is an author who pays sharp attention to the world around her.' * Australian on 'Deeper Water' *
`[Cole] writes beautifully about the unravelling of this existence...This is a tender book about family, loss and trauma, and it deserves a wide readership despite its heavy themes.' * Readings *
`This memoir absolutely sparkles, and reminded me how powerful and moving books can be.' -- Mark Rubbo * Readings *
'When Australia's cultural narratives insist an artist must leave home to succeed, Cole shows one forged by staying put...It's surprising that, in the midst of such sorrow, what resounds is a sensation of fecundity. But perhaps it's not, from a writer of such talent and grace.' * Saturday Paper *
`Staying is a heartbreaking testament to the despair, helplessness and guilt of those left behind.' * Australian Financial Review *
`Staying is rich and complex - and often surprisingly funny given its dark subject matter. Above all, this memoir is a meditation on what it means to be traumatised by loss, and ultimately to be healed by life.' * Sydney Morning Herald *
`This is a book buoyant with a love for family and the natural world. Its pages are filled with light: the vividness of the living being who wants to live. What cannot be separated from these transports of contentment, though, is an irrefutable darkness...It is a -literary achievement, but always a human story. Its message is that life has a tenacious power to draw us out of states of bereavement that, if surrendered to, have the capacity to destroy us -entirely.' * Australian *
`Staying isn't just a tale of paradise lost - it's about the birth of an artist in the midst of trauma, crafted with the eye and prose of a novelist. It's also a hymn to a landscape, and to the immense difficulty in deciding simply to stay.' * Adelaide Advertiser *
`A stunningly written piece of work...Honest, open and raw.' * 1 Girl 2 Many Books *
`Heartbreaking...a truly beautiful book.' * New Zealand Women's Weekly *
`A delicate, difficult portrait of a family suffering delicate, difficult circumstances.' * Adelaide Review *
`I have read many memoirs this year, but none as scrupulously honest as this one...The sensitivity and brilliance of Cole's writing meant I was drawn into her world and was able to share her anguish...I am pleased Cole was talented enough, and brave enough, to share her words, providing insight into a subject that will doubtless touch many readers.' * Otago Daily Times *
`Cole paints such an authentic picture of her grieving family I wanted to read more about the years that followed, which shows her great achievement in Staying.' * Good Reading *
`An honest, raw and well-crafted memoir about a family torn apart.' * AU Review *
`[A] quiet, luminous memoir...Brave and radical.' -- Tim Winton * Best Books of 2018, Sydney Morning Herald *
`Jessie Cole's Staying (Text), a memoir about surviving the suicide of loved ones, made a great impact.' -- Robert Drewe * Best Books of 2018, Sydney Morning Herald *
`I loved Jessie Cole's excruciating, immaculately crafted memoir.' -- Jane Rawson * Best Books of 2018, Sydney Morning Herald *