Off-site Event: WHAT OUR FRIENDS LEFT BEHIND by Victoria Noe

Join Women & Children First for an off-site event celebrating What Our Friends Left Behind: Grief and Laughter in a Pandemic by Victoria Noe. For this event, Victoria will be in conversation with Linda Bubon, the co-founder of Women & Children First. This event will be held from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at It's Lit Studio, 3726 W. Montrose.

Grieving a friend is hard.

Grieving a friend during a pandemic is a lot harder.

What Our Friends Left Behind: Grief and Laughter in a Pandemic is a powerful and compassionate exploration of friend grief during the COVID-19 epidemic. This book sensitively addresses the unique challenges and emotions faced by people who have experienced the loss of a friend during these uncertain times.

Through personal anecdotes, interviews, and expert insights, Victoria Noe delves into the profound impact of losing a friend and the specific grief journey that ensues. The book acknowledges the unique bond and significance of friendships and explores the complexities of grieving for a friend in a world upended by isolation, physical distancing, and limited opportunities for traditional mourning rituals.

Noe's book also highlights the power of honoring the lives of those friends, offering examples of meaningful tributes and finding solace in shared memories. It encourages readers to embrace the healing power of community, finding comfort in the stories of others who have experienced friend grief during the pandemic.

What Our Friends Left Behind serves as a source of comfort, validation, and hope, reminding readers that they were not alone in the intricate journey of friend grief during these challenging times.

Victoria Noe is an award-winning author, speaker and activist. Her Friend Grief series recognizes the importance of friendships in shaping our lives. Her HIV/AIDS activism led her to write Fag Hags, Divas and Moms: The Legacy of Straight Women in the AIDS Community, the first book to honor the ways women changed the course of the epidemic. An accomplished public speaker, she has presented at The Muse and the Marketplace, Book Expo America, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Open Hand, and libraries around the country.

The Women’s Voices Fund was established in November, 2005, to help support feminist programming at Women & Children First. The Women’s Voices Fund will ensure that events featuring women writers, fostering discussion of feminist issues and culture, and nurturing children’s delight in books will continue to play a vital role in Chicago’s intellectual, literary, and political life.