A beautifully-illustrated, celebratory anthology exploring
sadness--and the transformative power of tears.
When was the last time you cried? Was it because you were sad? Or happy?
Overwhelmed, or frustrated? Maybe from relief or from pride? Was it in
public or in private? Did you feel better afterwards, or worse? The
reasons that we cry--and the circumstances in which we shed a tear--are
often surprising and beautiful. Sad Happens is a collective,
multi-faceted archive of tears that captures the complexity and variety
of these circumstances.
We hear from Mike Birbiglia on the role that grief and pain have in
comedy; Jia Tolentino on how motherhood made her cry in both hormonal
joy and fervent rage; and Hanif Abdurraqib on the intimacy of crying on
planes. We hear from Phoebe Bridgers on poignant moments of departure
and JP Brammer on the strange disappointments of success; Matt Berninger
on becoming a crybaby in his adulthood and Hua Hsu on crying during a
moment of public uncertainty. We also hear from everyday people in a
range of professions: an actor on the tips she learned from drag queens
about preserving a full face of makeup while crying; a zookeeper on
mourning the animals who have died during her tenure; a bartender on
crying in the walk-in; and a TV critic on the shows that have moved her.
Brimming with humanity, this anthology is confirmation that sad
happens--but so does joy, love, a sense of community, and a host of
other emotions. By turns moving and affirming, Sad Happens is an
emotional balm and visual delight.
