loss is a river

Much like a mapmaker charting unfamiliar waterways, 'loss is a river' is a journey that explores the complex emotional terrain of grief and loss when someone we love is at the end of life. Reid Hepworth’s tanka, haibun and haiku are a moving tribute to those she has loved and lost.
 
 
Praise for loss is a river
 
“loss is a river” by Reid Hepworth is a multi-layered book of tanka and haibun that reminds me of geology, where we study strata: layers of sand, clay, and rock spread out one on top of the other. As you turn the pages, each poem pulls the reader deeper into the rock-bed of emotions. With her choice of words and their placement, the enchantment is like the alchemy of petals falling!
The pages are replete with the weight of many storms, unfolding like a buttercup tracking the sun. You can feel a parent's overgrown nails dig into the palm, the tough conversations they have weathered, and a mother's deaf ears tuning into a frequency only she can hear. Through all this, the child is letting go and holding on, constantly.
As always, the destination doesn’t matter; it’s the journey. And what a journey Reid has taken us through. Grab a copy today to revel, rejoice, and sink into the pages of a child's love for her parents. This remembrance, this longing to be held again, will invigorate and enliven your every breath.
This book is not to be missed.
— Kala Ramesh
Poet, editor, and mentor,
Founder and director: Triveni Haikai India
Founder and managing editor: haikuKATHA
 
This book is a lament sung in lunar notes. Reid has penned exquisite little yet powerful songs which will leave a lump in your throat and give words to that universal phenomenon called grief. Every person is touched by death in some way, and every person will be able to relate to Reid’s words. From the October full dying grass moon to the no moon, every phase is woven in magical words of love. And loss.
Sangita Kalarickal
Associate Editor, Drifting Sands Haibun and Ripples in the Sand, podcast host
 
In loss is a river, Reid Hepworth—with a calm, reflective, insightful, and relatable voice—shares her experiences with loss through a delicate blending of her love for the natural world and her love for those she honors in this book. The book, while centered around the subject of loss, is also a celebration of the lives of those who have passed. It's a quick read that needs to be read slowly and deeply. A compelling and unique look at a subject that touches us all.
Richard Grahn
Founder and managing editor, Drifting Sands Haibun and the Abstractaphy Initiative
 
Is loss a river? Find out by reading Reid Hepworth’s new book! Hepworth masterfully mixes haiku, tanka, and haibun together, to create a narrative we all can relate to. Her book takes us on an arduous journey, from a loved one on the verge of death, to losing that loved one, compelling us to look at grief in its many facets. She has crafted her book into seven separate sections, each one using a different moon haiku at the end to punctuate her loss. Each poem is powerful on its own, but as a collection, these poems accentuate the love, loss, and grief that Hepworth feels. By the end of this book, the reader will be as devastated as Hepworth, and see that yes, loss is most definitely a river.
Susan Burch
Poet, Former VP Tanka Society of America