“Is there a word for what gets said without language, how we carry the weight of the lives that come before us? This is one of the questions of this profound meditation on love and family. Natasha Williams offers us a portrait of America at a time when everything was in flux, when people searched for new ways to live, and (if they were lucky) ended up simply loving each other.”

– Nick Flynn, Author of Another Bullshit Night in Suck City and Low life

“Read the first thirty pages of The Parts of Him I Kept, and I bet you would cancel your own wedding to read the rest of it. Natasha Williams has a hell of a story to tell, and she writes like an angel.”

– Abigail Thomas, Author of Still Life at Eighty

“Natasha Williams has written an extraordinary memoir of growing up with a schizophrenic father and frequently dysfunctional mother. It is as emotionally wrenching (and occasionally terrifying) as you would expect, but it is also funny, wise, beautifully observed and astonishingly tender.”

– James Lasdun, Author of Victory

“A gifted work of graceful eloquence, this memoir is an homage to the universal power of tenderness.”

– Lisa St. John, Author of Swallowing Stones

“Natasha Williams crafts a lyrical and deeply moving memoir about love, loss, and resilience in the face of her father’s schizophrenia. Through tender prose and raw honesty, Williams explores the enduring bonds that tether us, even amid chaos and ultimately healing.”

–Jai Chakrabarti, Author of A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness

“What elevates The Parts of Him I Kept to a timeless memoir is William’s ability to draw the reader into the vivid and lyrically rendered world of a father and daughter’s deep, abiding love for each other despite her father’s schizophrenia. She takes us on a journey that is poignant, hilarious, and yes, at times dangerous, even deadly.  But in the end, Williams asks us to rethink the limit of what love can endure.”

-Daisy Foote, Author of Bhutan and Horton Foote: The Road to Home

“Natasha Williams achingly exquisite memoir takes us on a journey through complex trauma and unexpected tenderness, illuminating her path of self-discovery and providing real hope for those who long to heal.”

-John Sibley Williams, Author of Scale Model of a Country at Dawn 

“Williams balances compassion for her charismatic, schizophrenic father, and her own need for boundaries with a man who thought he could read minds. What is remarkable about the author’s vivid, elegantly crafted prose, is that even at her father’s most heinous moments, Williams never tips into pity–for him or for herself.”

-Tina Barry, Author of I Tell Henrietta

“With tenderness and understanding, Williams manages to retrieve what love she shared with her deeply disturbed father to create a riveting book.”

-Laura Shaine Cunningham, Author of Sleeping Arrangements

“This memoir is a testament to the strength of the human spirit, capturing the struggles, complexities, and transformative moments of living in a family deeply affected by mental illness.”

– Emily Metheny, Loyola University.