Our Lives in Pieces: A Collection of Flash Memoir Essays

Adams compiles a moving collection that reflects on the grace found in life’s broken edges, recognizing that in those moments, “when we are holding the shattered pieces in our hands, we realize we are only beginning to see the beauty of the story as it unfolds.” The essays touch on the lost dreams that come with dying too soon and too young—from a nephew’s final goodbyes due to leukemia complications to a decades-old friendship cut short by terminal cancer—while also brushing up against lighter fare, as in “Sound Advice from Your Favorite Pants,” a recounting of the good times spent traveling and celebrating special occasions with a cherished pair of jeans.

As a hospice volunteer, Adams has walked hand in hand with life’s final moments, and she shares those vivid memories here: sitting bedside in the room of an unknown soldier; receiving shocking deathbed confessions that ease the transition for those moving from life to death; contemplating the many ways that death robs the world of purpose. Other offerings taste the bitterness of trauma, with the “shame and isolation” of a jail sentence in “Long Road Home” fracturing a wounded family, or “The Chase” probing addiction as a dangerous salve for childhood abuse. Throughout, Adams writes with a raw vulnerability that captivates, whether penning an intimate letter to anorexia (“I believe even though you tried to kill me, there is a part of me that will always love you” she declares) or slogging through the dark waters of depression, where “the only way to end this living nightmare is to permanently disconnect my brain from my body.”

Adams’s writing is emotionally freeing—often seeking the silver lining amid life’s pain—and an inspiring tribute to the battles she’s overcome. Despite occasional melancholy, a deep sense of peace infuses the memoir—and a glimmer of hope for the life that still lies ahead.

Takeaway: Deeply moving memoir unfolding through essays of life, death, and faith.

Comparable Titles: Anne Patchett’s These Precious Days, Marcie Alvis Walker's Everybody Come Alive.