Ordinary Light

"Tracy K. Smith’s memoir, Ordinary Light, is anything but ordinary — but she performs the magic trick of writing with such beautiful simplicity that you don’t notice the language until you realize you’ve stopped to grab a tissue. This is of course because memoir is not her first language — Smith is a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. This book is the story of her early life, her faith and her experiences with race. It’s also about her relationship with her mother and her mother’s death from cancer. Smith’s pain and confusion — and the process of learning to live without her mother — are all told with beauty and sensitivity. She is a master of poetry, prose and philosophy."

"Tracy K. Smith's Ordinary Light, a memoir that reads like poetry."