My father, the historian, could have started the story of my grandmother’s death with this: “Before she shot herself in the chest, we had one last phone call.” But that’s the writer in me, and my father, ever the scholar, refused to embellish.

“Notes From a Suicide” is an essay about my grandmother’s suicide, the legacy of family secrets, and an attempt to discern what we inherit from our ancestors. The essay appeared in the Fall 2015 issue of Post Road Magazine and was selected by the editors for a Pushcart Prize nomination. It was also recognized as notable in the Best American Essays 2016 anthology.

You can also hear me read from the essay, and talk about its origins, in this Fiction is First Podcast, hosted by Ben Forstenzer.

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