We’re really pleased to share this unflinchingly honest and moving essay by Mimi Lipson. The essay, about Mimi’s brother, is called “Tornado” and was published recently in the Massachusetts Review.
About writing the essay, Mimi says:
I usually avoid thinking about writing in terms of catharsis, but working on this really did help me to resolve some things. It has a lot of parts to it, and I kept thinking I needed to take one thing or another out, but in the end it didn’t work without everything–all the complications. What’s really surprised me is how satisfying it’s been to share the piece with Nate’s old friends. I don’t think anything I’ve accomplished in terms of publishing my work has meant more to me than the gratitude some of them have expressed.
Thank you for sharing this with us, Mimi, and hearty congrats.
Mimi Lipson received her MFA from BU in 2013. She’s published a book of stories called The Cloud of Unknowing (Yeti), and her fiction has appeared in BOMB, Harvard Review, Witness, and elsewhere. She has enjoyed residency fellowships at McDowell, Yaddo, Ucross, VCCA, and the Edward Albee Foundation. Mimi lives in New York City.
