October 4, 2022
My new book is out! I’ve been writing essays for over fifteen years, and it’s been a glorious ride, but I’d never put out a collection of just Jill Christman essays between two covers. I’m thrilled to share the news that the good people at the University of Nebraska Press changed that on September 1, 2022 by releasing If This Were Fiction: A Love Story in their amazing American Lives series.
The Heart Folds Early is about what it means to make a choice. As mothers, how do we carry life and death in our bodies and survive with our hearts intact? Jill Christman folds the mournful recklessness of the twenty-year-old widow she was against the backdrop of her later marriage and new motherhood, including the choice to end a half-term pregnancy when a routine ultrasound revealed her baby boy had just half a heart. Available from University of Nebraska Press. Use the the exclusive discount code 6AS26 for 40% off! New events and interviews and reviews are on the horizon!
Check out my review of Brittany Means’s Hell If We Don’t Change Our Ways.
If This Were Fiction is a love story—for Jill Christman’s long-ago fiancé, who died young in a car accident; for her children; for her husband, Mark; and ultimately, for herself. In this collection, Christman takes on the wide range of situations and landscapes she encountered on her journey from wild child through wounded teen to mother, teacher, writer, and wife. Published in the American Lives series from University of Nebraska Press September 2022.