Leslie Pietrzyk - This Angel on My Chest

Pietrzyk, a writing teacher and the author of two novels, A Year and a Day and Pears on a Willow Tree, has published short fiction throughout her career. Awarded the 2015 Drue Heinz Literature Prize, Pietrzyk’s first collection of stories is a powerful exploration of loss and mourning; arranged as variations on a theme, each piece focuses on a woman suddenly and unexpectedly widowed, but as each experience of grief follows its own course, the stories take different forms, ranging from lists and a quiz to a YouTube link, a lecture on writing and solid, old-fashioned storytelling.