All the Leavings

177 Pages·2021·4.9 MB·English

by  Laurie Easter

ALL THE LEAVINGS

ALL THE
LEAVINGS
LAURIE EASTER
Oregon State University Press Corvallis
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Easter, Laurie, 1966- author.
Title: All the leavings / Laurie Easter.
Description: Corvallis, OR : Oregon State University Press, 2021. | Includes
bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021044601 | ISBN 9780870711220 (trade paperback) |
ISBN 9780870711404 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Easter, Laurie, 1966- | Josephine County (Or.)—Biography. | Rural
women—Oregon—Josephine County—Biography. | Caregivers—Oregon—
Biography. | Women caregivers—Oregon—Biography. | Bereavement—
Psychological aspects. | Country life—Oregon—Josephine County.
Classification: LCC F882.J8 E37 2021 | DDC 979.5/25092 [B]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021044601
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992
(Permanence of Paper).
© 2021 Laurie Easter
All rights reserved.
First published in 2021 by Oregon State University Press
Printed in the United States of America
Oregon State University Press
121 The Valley Library
Corvallis OR 97331-4501
541-737-3166 • fax [phone]
www.osupress.oregonstate.edu
for Mary
and for June, John, Terri, and Christy
and finally
for Steve

The dry leaves . . . Do they fly or fall? Or does every flight contain
the waiting earth? And does every fall contain the quiver of a wing?
—Dulce Maria Loynaz

contents
Author’s Note xi
Prologue 1
Her Body, a Wilderness 6
Relics 19
Something to Do with Baldness 29
Reprieve: Winter 41
I Have to Tell You 44
Sojourns with Big Cats in Triptych 51
Crack My Heart Wide Open 56
Reprieve: Spring 68
Searching for Gwen 71
Bad Blood 82
Rebound Tenderness 103
Reprieve: Summer 108
The Polarity of Incongruities 111
Three Weeks: A Chronology from Before to After 114
Solving My Way to Grandma 124
Reprieve: Autumn 131
All the Leavings 134
Antidote to Grief 152
Afterword 157
Acknowledgments 159
Notes and Sources 161