{"product_id":"9781639821167","title":"In the Unwalled City","description":"\u003cp\u003eI\u003ci\u003en the Unwalled City\u003c\/i\u003e takes its title from Epicurus, who\nwrote: “Against other things it is possible to obtain security, but when it\ncomes to death, we human beings all live in an unwalled city.” This affecting\nbook—which weaves prose memoir with poetry—explores that feeling of being open\nto attack—in this case the pain of grief after Robert Cording’s\nthirty-one-year-old son Daniel died. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTo borrow a phrase from C.S. Lewis,\nhere is “a grief observed,” encompassing not only the big questions but also\nthe impact of grief on daily life. For a poet like Cording, one form that grief\ntakes is that of speaking to his son. In “Afterlife,” Cording has a vision of\nhis son replying: “let the emptiness remain empty . . . Stop writing down \/\neverything you think I’m telling you. \/ This is your afterlife, not mine.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt the heart of \u003ci\u003eIn the Unwalled\nCity \u003c\/i\u003eis a series of questions: How does loss change a person? How does one\nchart a new life that both acknowledges a son’s death and still finds a way\nback to delight? How does one now live fully in the unwalled city? \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Slant Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46375211303153,"sku":"9781639821167","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0674\/5433\/7265\/files\/9781639821167_p0.jpg?v=1765426979","url":"https:\/\/shop.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781639821167","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble","version":"1.0","type":"link"}