Rested Heart

We tell stories about the dead in order that they may live, if not in body then at least in mind - the minds of those left behind. Although the dead couldn’t care less about these stories—all available evidence suggests the dead don’t care about much—it seems that if we tell them often enough, and listen carefully to the stories of others, our knowledge of the dead can deepen and grow. If we persist in this process, digging and sifting, we had better be prepared for hard truths; like rocks beneath the surface of a plowed field, they show themselves eventually.

—

Philip Connors, Stories to Live With, Lapham’s Quarterly.

One of the most honest, piercing, poignant pieces I have read in a long time as the author takes us through his own experience with his brother.