Skip to main content

'Us, After' memoir tackles suicide, grief and learning to love life again

caption: The cover of "Us, After" by Rachel Zimmerman. (Courtesy)
Enlarge Icon
The cover of "Us, After" by Rachel Zimmerman. (Courtesy)

Editor’s note: If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Health reporter Rachel Zimmerman is known for insightful and hard-hitting investigations in publications like the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and WBUR radio. But when her husband Seth— an accomplished MIT professor known for his outsized personality and devotion to his young daughters — died of suicide in 2014, she had more questions than answers.

Her new memoir, “Us, After” describes her path to slowly rebuilding her family and unraveling some of the mystery behind Seth’s death. At times hard to read, the memoir is also infused with humor, emotion, common sense and empathy.

Host Robin Young talks to Zimmerman about her decade of evolution.

Book excerpt: ‘Us, After’

By Rachel Zimmerman

Copyright © Rachel Zimmerman 2024.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Why you can trust KUOW