Anne Pinkerton

My book, WERE YOU CLOSE? a sister’s quest to know the brother she lost, is celebrating its third birthday today! 🎂

I’m so grateful to everyone who has celebrated the publication of this story about my amazing, beloved, and deeply missed brother, David. 🧡

If you know someone who would appreciate a story about sibling love and loss, please grab a copy through your local indie bookstore or here: https://vineleavespress.myshopify.com/products/were-you-close-by-anne-pinkerton 🙏

Were You Close? by Anne Pinkerton “A masterful guide to loving and losing the extraordinary among us.” Mary E. Plouffe Ph.D., author of I Know It in My Heart: Walking through Grief with a Child A successful radiologist and elite athlete, Dr. Dave tended to the blistered feet of strangers on racecourses and gave away many of his ...

I don't know about YOU but I am VERY excited about this.

Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World TRAILER From a lonely childhood to literary fame, her life was shaped by devotion to nature, paying attention, and the long journey toward learning to love and to be...

I'm so glad my book resonated with Christine Jarrett, and I'm touched by her post (though I wish she didn't understand the loss of beloved larger-than-life brothers so well.) 🧡

This beautifully written memoir takes the reader on a journey from the initial shock of losing her brother to navigating the grief in the years following his death. I found the story especially touching in the way the author grew even closer to her brother in the years after he passed.

I, too, lost my larger-than-life older brother, and I deeply connected with the idea of reclaiming that bond as memories continue to surface year after year since his passing.

I'm excited to be at the Straw Dog Writers Guild table at the Northampton Antiquarian Book, Ephemera and Book Arts Fair tomorrow, Saturday, 2-4pm. Other fab local authors will be at the table throughout the Fair. Come stop by and say Hi. Maybe, even buy some locally-grown books for holiday gifts!

Northampton Antiquarian Book, Ephemera, and Book Arts Fair Browse, schmooze, and buy used and books, paper Americana, and book arts at the Northampton Book Fair on Friday, November 22nd, 5 - 8 pm and Saturday, November 23rd, 10am - 4pm at the Center for the Arts, Northampton Community Arts Trust, 33 Hawley Street, Northampton, MA 01060. Thirty six exhibitor...

It all helps more than you know! If you've read WERE YOU CLOSE? (or you'd like to!), please consider one of these FREE ways to help spread the word. 🧡🙏

https://a.co/d/iiDhnTM

So honored to be featured on Sari Botton's "Memoir Land" today! Read more about me writing and crying! 🧡

“The book is a direct result of not knowing how to deal with my grief over the death of my brother, the processing of which stretched far beyond the couple of months people around me found palatable (not unusual and a fault of our culture, not them). That, combined with a shocking lack of literature about sibling loss at the time, compelled me to write about it.”

The Memoir Land Author Questionnaire #146: Anne Pinkerton "Just drafting the thing was terribly painful because the content was so emotionally taxing. I couldn’t count the number of crying breaks required to get through the writing of it."

“Resilience is not merely surviving adversity; it is the alchemy of transforming hardship into something meaningful. Creativity is one of the most accessible and profound tools for this transformation. Through art, writing, music, and countless everyday expressions, we externalize pain, experiment with new perspectives, and craft narratives that sustain us.”
My friend Hugh is so smart and kind and a beautiful writer.

The Art of Bouncing Forward When life unravels, resilience isn’t just about grit—it’s about creativity. Discover how everyday acts of imagination can transform pain into meaning.

Had a wonderful conversation with Blair Hodges for his podcast, Relationscapes, talking about my book, Were You Close?, and all things sibling loss. Give it a listen! 🧡

The Disenfranchised Grief of Sibling Loss (with Anne Pinkerton) | Relationscapes When Anne Pinkerton's brother unexpectedly died alone in an extreme sport accident, she faced the same question over and over. People would always ask, "Were You Close?" They asked out of concern, but the question felt almost impossible to answer. In some ways, Anne and her brother David weren't clo...

Such as the lobster
cracking loose
from its exoskeleton
after moons of moulting,
or the viper that squeezes
out of the skin
of its remembrance,
this oracle invites you
to rewild yourself,
to unbox, detox, and de-
clutter your blood.
Break free from the mold
you made for yourself,
for the animal
in you that craves
routines like sugar,
addicted to the stress
of your comforts. Sling
your arm around the waist
of your discomfort
like it’s a new lover
in these uncharted
seas and distances
untraversed. Take
and give glee.
Summon surprise.
Something whim-
sical this way comes.
It smells something
like wishes wrapped
in wind as you
trod the winding path
through
the forests
of your interior.
Be warned. You will
bewilder beloveds.
Hush. Some
events are better
experienced than
explained. Take soul.
Your joy is your job;
and yours alone.
Hire your
self every day.
Climb into your traveling
shoes knowing that
there, too, will
be dancing.

— “38. Shedding the Old” by Samantha Thornhill

“In nonfiction writing, particularly personal or poetic forms, the writer is both narrator and witness, both participant and observer. We mine our pasts for moments that reveal something true about ourselves or the world, and this process can awaken dormant emotions or surface long-buried wounds.

Memoir writing is inherently an act of exposure. It demands truth-telling, but truth is often layered. What begins as a story about someone else—a parent, a partner, a teacher—can reveal hidden dynamics within ourselves.

We find ourselves reliving scenes, not just narrating them. The brain doesn’t always distinguish between memory and present experience; writing vividly can activate the same neurological responses as the original event.”

— such wisdom from Hugh Willard (whom I am proud to know!)

The Unexpected Challenge of Writing About Yourself Writing personal stories can open the door to healing—but also to unexpected emotional upheaval. What happens when the act of telling your truth starts telling something back?