The Mercy Papers (2009)

Back when she was in graduate school at Berkeley, Robin Romm was abruptly called home to her mother's deathbed in New York. Though her mom had been sick with breast cancer for nine years, Robin was still devastated. The Mercy Papers, the vitriol-laced journal she kept during the three weeks before her mother died, captures all the fear and sadness you might expect from a heartbroken 28-year-old — but it's her gusting, boiling anger that rattles the page. ''I know it's selfish,'' she tells her mom at one point. ''But I can't tell you it's okay to die. I won't be okay.'' There are countless memoirs about death and overcoming grief, but Romm's sheer firepower sets hers apart, capturing all the raw messiness behind her agony. A