To Wallow in Ash & Other Sorrows

Written during the black-depths of early widowhood, To Wallow in Ash Other Sorrows explores grief, loss, and the alluring comforts found within the heart of oblivion. Written in the spirit of J.G. Ballard, Georges Bataille, and Kathe Koja, these nine Sorrows are a cross-section of literary splatterpunk, transgressive fiction, and weird horror, which seek to illuminate the terror, dread, and discomfort of mourning through the black mirror of the grotesque.

This book is full of pain.

This book is full of tears.

This book is full of ash.

"A punch to the soul. I mean you can really feel how difficult this was to write. ‘To Wallow in Ash’ is a bleakly profound - and on occasion uplifting - expedition through grief-induced mania (and without ever succumbing to mal du siècle). Richard offers us an authentic, raw document of depression and loss; and to have moulded the stages into artful monographs while staring the abyss right in the eye every step of the way is truly commendable." – Chris Kelso, author of The Black Dog Eats the City

"This book is grief weaponized." – Emma Alice Johnson, Wonderland Book Award-winner

"Witches and rituals and weird gods but most terrifying of all is a sense of deep grief that stalks the pages like a predatory beast. Sam Richard has gifted readers his private terrors but also his heart and soul. Violent, weird, and compelling work." – Nicholas Day, This Is Horror and Wonderland Award-nominated author of At the End of the Day I Burst into Flames and Now That We're Alone

"With To Wallow in Ash and Other Sorrow, Sam Richard has crafted a book of stories that will rip your heart right out of your chest... and it's absolutely worth every moment. At turns brutally raw, incredibly beautiful, and always unexpected, this is an unforgettable ode to a love lost far too soon, and a collection that is absolutely worth seeking out." – Gwendolyn Kiste, author of The Rust Maidens and The Invention of Ghosts