Finding a Way is the debut collection of Flash Fiction by Diane Simmons. The majority of these stories are 1-2 pages in length, tiny pearls that string together to form a chronological narrative taking us through the two years following the death of Becky: daughter, sister and wife (of nine days) to the four narrators. I doubt there are few readers who’ve never experienced grief, but most of us couldn’t contemplate losing a child, making this a heart breaking read at times. I cried a lot but neither could I leave the world of Liz and Christopher (Becky’s parents) and finished this in one sitting as I found myself totally immersed in Simmons’s prose. Impressively this is a true collection and each story can be read on its own or as part of a longer arc.

The stories take us through a difficult journey and show honestly the path that grief takes you down, and yet there is so much love resonating throughout this collection showing how a family can tentatively rebuild their world beyond tragedy. I particularly admired how these stories honestly showed the difficult scenarios (sometimes even comic) of facing the questions of others. How do you answer the innocent ‘have you any kids?’ when your beloved daughter has died of cancer? It shows how grief changes but never fades over time, and portrays complex emotions through the ordinary situations of everyday life. Ultimately, it left me uplifted because I believed all the characters were facing the future together.