What We Lost When We Lost Barbara Jean (Prologue), by Rebecca K. O'Connor (read by Xe Sands) by Xe Sands published on 2012-03-06T03:03:22Z What We Lost When We Lost Barbara Jean, by Rebecca K. O'Connor In October 2011, I came across an amazing piece of writing by Rebecca K. O'Connor (via The Rumpus - see below), a work-in-progress, a beautiful journey of memoir and fiction. This excerpt is the Prologue of that work. It is my sincere hope that Rebecca continues her journey and finishes what is sure to be an exceptional book. With Rebecca's permission, it is my honor to have recorded and present this clip. Need a taste before you listen? "This is the truth. Around noon I gulped a shot of tequila and then placed a chair in my closet, sat down, shut the door and put my .22 rifle in my mouth. It didn’t fit well. The scope got in the way of positioning the barrel for a shot through my brain. It was unwieldy and the cold metal after the warm liquor made me gag. My whole body vibrated with my heartbeat and I hurriedly decided that the best way, perhaps the only way to do this well and correctly was to balance my forehead against the barrel and pull the trigger. Not entirely satisfied, but too terrified to continue on with the deliberation, I resolved that this must have been the way my grandmother died. I kicked open the door and tumbled out of my closet." For the full text, visit The Rumpus: http://therumpus.net/2011/10/what-we-lost-when-we-lost-barbara-jean/ Genre Memoir Comment by Stories for Insomniacs Amazing. 2013-06-07T04:34:12Z