Just thinking about Saint Nellie by Odal Madsen, again, and I need a minute. Maybe several.
It’s the kind of book that doesn’t whisper—it howls.
Grief? Present.
Poetic pain? Absolutely.
Hope? Barely, but you’ll claw for it.
If you’re in the mood to feel absolutely everything all at once, here are 5 heartbreakingly intimate books that echo Saint Nellie’s devastating grace:
📚 A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
“You won’t understand the hurt unless it’s yours.”
Found family, lifelong trauma, and unrelenting emotional damage—written with beauty and brutality.
📚 The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker
“I killed a boy today. A real person.”
A shocking premise from a child’s perspective, written with chilling intimacy and nuance.
📚 Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
“This is not a story of a man’s crimes, but of the women who survive them.”
Murder, legacy, and the quiet power of shifting perspective.
📚 The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
“You are not the thing that happened to you.”
A woman standing at the intersection of trauma and choice. Beautifully written. Utterly raw.
📚 Beartown by Fredrik Backman
“Hate can be a lot of things, but it’s never as strong as love.”
A small town. A violent act. And the unraveling of everything they thought they knew.
💔 These aren’t easy reads—but they are unforgettable.