{"product_id":"on-witness-and-respair-essays-hardcover","title":"On Witness and Respair: Essays (Hardcover)","description":"\u003ch1\u003e\u003cb\u003eby Jesmyn Ward\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #24d7de;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eDescription\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-about-the-book\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-about-the-book\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe collected creative nonfiction of a singular American writer, Jesmyn Ward, including widely shared classics, three never-before-published speeches, and an introductory essay.\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-about-the-book\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the two-time National Book Award winner and bestselling author Jesmyn Ward, this collection of essays documents more than a decade of work in the life of a singular writer. Beginning with her upbringing in a multigenerational household in rural Mississippi, the cradle of both her youth and her gift for storytelling, Ward brings her keen wisdom and hauntingly lyrical prose to a range of topics, following in her grandmother Dorothy’s footsteps when she promises always to “Tell it straight. Tell it all.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\"\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrue to her word, in these pages Ward contemplates the writers and novels of her youth and adulthood—the transformative power of discovering Octavia Butler as a twenty-something, the mirror that Richard Wright’s novels held up to her own childhood, and of course, her lifelong love for Toni Morrison. Ward ruminates on her approach to both fiction and life, reflecting on the power of the novel, how to raise a Black son in an era of rising divisiveness and cruelty, as well as her own personal tragedies—including the titular essay of the collection, which tells the story of her partner’s sudden death on the eve of the COVID-19 epidemic. Every bit as piercing and moving as her fiction, \u003cem\u003eOn Witness and Respair\u003c\/em\u003e is a testament to Ward’s powers as one of America’s finest living writers and is a monument to hope, beauty, and personal and collective resilience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #24d7de;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJesmyn Ward\u003c\/strong\u003e received her MFA from the University of Michigan and has received the MacArthur Genius Grant, a Stegner Fellowship, a John and Renee Grisham Writers Residency, the Strauss Living Prize, and the 2022 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. She is the winner of two National Book Awards for Fiction\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eShe is currently a professor of creative writing at Tulane University and lives in Mississippi. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #24d7de;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCategory: \u003c\/b\u003eNonfiction, Essay\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage: \u003c\/b\u003eEnglish\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat\/Binding: \u003c\/b\u003eHardcover\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBook Condition: \u003c\/b\u003eNew\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cspan\u003e166806426X\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/b\u003e978-\u003cspan\u003e1668064269\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cspan\u003eScribner\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDate Published:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cspan\u003eMay 19, 2026\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages: \u003c\/b\u003e256\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cb\u003eTerms of Sale\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003eAll book sales are final. No returns or exchanges.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePurchaser will receive a new book that has never been read.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book will be shipped within 7 to 10 business days of receipt of order via a major mail carrier (USPS, UPS, FedEX, or DHL) and may take up to 14 days to arrive depending on the carrier and destination.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInternational shipping is also available.\u003cspan style=\"color: #24d7de;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mr. Well-Travelled","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50277749063873,"sku":null,"price":23.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/4756\/3713\/files\/9781668064269_-_On_Witness_and_Respair-_Essays_-_Jesmyn_Ward_-_mrwelltravelled_-_black_owned_online_bookstore_-_every_day_is_juneteenth.webp?v=1780175817","url":"https:\/\/shop.mrwelltravelled.com\/en-gb\/products\/on-witness-and-respair-essays-hardcover","provider":"Mr. Well-Travelled","version":"1.0","type":"link"}