Brother Epistles

About this book

On a Philadelphia street in 1992, Shanda McManus's brother Monir was killed in a drive-by shooting. Three decades later, still haunted by his murder, McManus traces her brother's life through their upbringing in North Philadelphia, Monir's teen fatherhood and stint in the U.S. Army to support his young sons, and finally, his participation in the drug trade. In Brother Epistles, a series of intimate letters, McManus writes as both sister and physician, blending social commentary, memory, and collective history to lament the fragility of Monir's life while demanding an American reckoning for the socioeconomic structures responsible for so many young Black men dying through homicide. A heartbreaking conversation between a sister and her brother, leavened with humor, family love, and unconquerable Black joy, Brother Epistles is a powerful meditation on Black identity, the criminalization of Black boys, and the devastating ripple effects of a tragic loss on the loved ones left behind. "What if you could talk to your loved ones after their deaths? What if you could be honest and imperfect, revealing to them not only your deep well of grief and the full spectrum of emotions that come with it, but the intimate details of your life without them? In Brother Epistles, Shanda McManus shares a deeply moving series of letters written to her beloved younger brother Monir after his murder in 1992. Writing with tenderness and candor, McManus reflects on both the dramatic and everyday moments of her brother's short life, his tragic death, the life she's managed to build in the decades since, and the state of their family and the larger world Monir didn't live to see. From politics and pop culture to the haunting regrets and what-ifs we survivors know so well, McManus paints Monir, and readers, an indelible portrait of the grieving life. This is an extraordinary and extraordinarily courageous book."-Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies "One of the most beautiful and engaging books I've read in a long time. McManus' story will grab your heart, hold it gently, then hand it lovingly, back to you."-Jacqueline Woodson, author of Brown Girl Dreaming "Brother Epistles is an astonishing act of resurrection. Shanda McManus writes across time, stitching a conversation with her lost brother that testifies to the enduring power of love. This is a daring memoir of self-compassion and forgiveness set against back drop of nearly unbearable trauma. McManus follows the pulse of her grief as it guides her toward wholeness, showing us how remembrance itself can be a form of healing."-Rana Awdish, author of In Shock: My Journey from Death to Recovery and the Redemptive Power of Hope "Brother Epistles is an act of both remembrance and reckoning. Shanda McManus confronts what it means to grow up Black in America and the intimate human cost of a nation's indifference. A powerful meditation on grief, love, and survival."-Danielle Ofri, author of What Doctors Feel and editor of Bellevue Literary Review "Using a delicate epistolary thread, Shanda McManus pulls her beloved brother out of the past into the present as she weaves a vibrant tapestry of sibling love; within her tender prose lies the shape-shifting nature of loss, and the brave act of wrestling with its lingering hold. I am not the same after reading this poignant, unforgettable memoir and you won't be either."-Bridgett M Davis, author of Love, Rita: An American Story of Sisterhood, Joy, Loss and Legacy and The World According To Fannie Davis: My Mother's Life In The Detroit Numbers