Essayist Random Billings Noble discovers herself through decades of loves, loss, birth, illness, retreat. In exquisite prose, rich with literary references, the author refuses easy answers. The tone of this literary memoir--told in stand-alone chapters that vary in form and viewpoint--is that of a quiet observer on a soul-searching quest. Sometimes the book seems, to me, like a series of long conversations with a friend: punctuated with silences, what-ifs, clever turns of mind including literary quotations and diversions to ponder the meaning of single words, for example: "Mirror comes from the Latin mirari, 'to wonder.'' The author draws strength from this notion, this self-contemplation reflected against changing circumstances, relationships, and settings. Themes include a courageous exploration of postpartum depression, doubts about mothering (twin daughters), relationship ebbs and flows, doubts about cancer diagnosis. Would be a great addition to syllabi in creative nonfiction writing, or in women's groups, or for book group discussion.

The task of repopulating the senior library has been an exciting and daunting task aS in a boarding school our aim is to encourage all members of the community to read. Because of this, I have been searching down a wide and diverse range of books to read that will entice a wide cross-section of the school to come in, browse and find books that they love.
Books like this will ensure that the senior students in the school see the library as a diverse, modern and exciting place with books that speak to them and they want to recommend to their friends, classmates, teachers and tutors.
It is an engrossing and exciting read with fully-formed characters and a plot that ensures that it's hard to look away. It is as far from formulaic as it is possible to be and kept me up far too late in order to finish it. I immediately wanted to read all of this writer's other books as I loved their voice and found that it really drew me into the story and made me think about it even when I'd stepped away from this tale.
This is a thought-provoking read which I'm sure will be a popular and well-read addition to our new library; I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to read it and I know that the students are going to absolutely love it too!

I normally don't find anthologies or essays to be interesting, but something about this premise allured me. I was very impressed. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

This is an interesting collection of essays that weave together personal stories of the author’ Life and works of literature. This seems at first like it would have the reader question if it will work, and it does. A few minor issues but overall, I enjoyed this collection and felt like the author conveyed a general theme throughout. This could have been a bit cleaner but it wasn’t enough of a negative to put me off reading.
Overall, a decent job.
#BeWithMeAlways #NetGalley

In Be With Me Always we are treated to a gorgeous collection of essays which vary in form, but at their heart all explore the various kinds of “hauntings” which impact our lives – relationships, memories, near-death experiences, motherhood – through a literary lens.

This is a really excellent collection. Language weaves beautifully around questions of injury, being a woman, giving birth, and sustaining relationships. Comparisons to books litter the text and the depth of field achieved in the most banal circumstances is absolutely great. Books like this are a pleasure to read, essayists this good a rare find.

This collection of essays was more related to literature than expected. Although well written, it was not what I was expecting and was a bit of a disappointment.

Well crafted essays which combine personal history with favourite literary works in a very poignant and enjoyable way. I would certainly recommend, use excerpts as examples of autobiographical writing and also give to friends as a gift.

While swimming at the shore In her teens, Randon Billings Noble suddenly found herself trapped in a riptide—fortunately she and her terrified friend were both pulled out by a lifeguard and made their way back to the calm and safety of the beach. In this debut collection “Be With Me Always: Essays” (2019) Billings Nobel explores the intrigue of emotional connections shaped by haunted memory and the near death experience with other essays of particular and individual interest.

The event with the riptide seemed frightening enough, but in college study abroad Billings Noble was in a motorcycle accident (in an unnamed French countryside) that left her hospitalized and unable to understand the language regarding her care in the emergency room. It was interesting the stages and phases of trauma she faced and went through. Essayist Montaigne describes the “sweet feeling” of those who let themselves slide into “Sleep” removed from the body (near death) that mysteries were revealed to him.
Reflections of literature were discussed length: The powerful pull of love across the ages is captured in the intensity of haunting/horror of "Dracula" Bram Stoker (1897). The Hours, Michael Cunningham (1998) which Billings Nobel avoided reading for years due to the shadowy pull of “conflicting gravity”. Isolation and loneliness were a prominent theme in Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe (1719). The stories that shaped a creators world, (Victor) “Frankenstein,” Mary Shelley (1818) related to “alchemy and science” but nothing prepared him for the dramatic creatures need, according to the author.

When Billings-Nobel discovered she and her husband would be the parents of twins, she was unprepared and feared the loss of her independence. Her pregnancy was difficult, the large bulk of her expanding body, the bloating and swelling, loss of mobility. In her 5th month it looked like she would deliver any day. After her twin daughters were born, her despair lifted; and at one point she wrote about them in an unclear uncertain metaphorical poetic manner.
There were several essays that featured facts, which seemed similar to “Trivial Pursuit”… for example: “A Pill To Cure Love” acetaminophen aka Tylenol. Others included “How to Fire A Gun” and quite oddly, the missing arm of Stonewall Jackson (May 3, 1863). It would have been more interesting to read longer details of Billings Nobels’ 3 week study abroad in London-- she toured the Tower of London and visited the grave of Anne Boleyn which was marked unceremoniously by a small square slab at the Chapel Royal of St. Peter. The writing was not in any particular order, the reflections and observations were from past to present, some essays were more interesting and engaging than others. ~ 3* GOOD. ** With thanks to the University of Nebraska Press via NetGalley for the DDC for the purpose of review.

A discussion of Wuthering Heights always draws me in, and so I was intrigued to read this collection of essays on the heart and on the hauntings of our past. The author, Randon Billings Noble (no relation that I'm aware of), examines, amongst other things, how our past loves can linger on into our future and how pregnancy can sometimes feel more like an invasion.

Like most compilations of essays, these were a bit hit and miss, with some really grabbing the attention whilst others were more of a skim through. The book won't be to everyone's taste - I enjoyed it overall but I probably wouldn't reread it.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, University of Nebraska Press, for the opportunity to review an ARC.

A nice little collection of essays/short stories that falls in the trap that so many other collections do - some are good, some are just okay. Using literary references and historical facts to align with a personal narrative, this collection shows great potential for future works.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Beautiful writing. It took me a bit to get into this, but I'm so glad I did. Anyone with a love for gorgeous writing will love this book.

Loved the part about Dracula! Beautiful emotional writing! This is the type of essays that touch my heart the most.

I really struggled with this. Whilst I liked Noble's writing style, this book wasn't for me. I managed to read a decent chunk of it and was getting nothing from her writing. Normally, I get on well with autobiographical essays but I did not connect with the authorial voice at all and each one I finished left me with a feeling of 'blah'.

I'll be honest here: I requested this solely because of the cover. I am a huge fan of anatomical hearts on covers and something about this cover and the title just spoke to me. Thankfully, this was absolutely worth reading.

The essays in this collection are for the most part wonderfully constructed. The author uses literature and other works of art to draw comparisons to her own life. This is something I particularly enjoy when it is well done and I thought it worked really well here.

The essay that worked best for me is the title essay - drawing on themes of Wuthering Height, a book I personally really appreciate, Noble carefully presents her own thoughts. I appreciated the way she mixes the personal with the literary to form a cohesive whole.

I have to admit that I did not find this collection spectacular and I am not sure it will particularly stick with me, but I will definitely check out whatever the author does next.

Enjoyable book. Full of stories
Thank you to both NetGalley and University of Nebraska Press for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review