Painfully Beautiful Book Dedications: Part 3

At this point, it has become an annual mission for me to keep an eye out for painfully beautiful book dedications. Whether I jot the phrases down in my journal or take a quick photo of the inside pages, I’ve started to collect these book dedications like charms.

The purpose of my first culmination of dedication notes was to make myself aware of the words before a story…rather than just flipping to chapter one. And I can say that by making this an annual list, I have been inherently more wondrous of all the words within the spine; intros, epigraphs, author’s notes, even group discussion questions at the end of books. I don’t even have a book club.

So here it is, the long awaited, Painfully Beautiful Book Dedications: Part 3.

Below each book dedication will be a link to read more about the book; I find once reading the synopsis, they punch me in the gut a bit more. Which…is kind of the point of this article.

And who would I be if I didn’t start with the author that began both book dedication lists so far?

The Winners by Fredrick Backman

“To you who talk too much and sing too loud and cry too often and love something in life more than you should”

More here.

In all honesty, I was a bit taken aback by this quote; what a contrast from the loving tone of Beartown's dedication from last year. But after re-reading it over and over again, I found myself in awe of it. It feels like a message to those who are told to fit in, to be smaller, to follow suit.

In the same vein, here are some more book dedications that I found myself rereading and trying to find more from.

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

“For the bar at the end of the universe | And everyone the devil met there.”

More here.

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

“For Eric. I hope you woke up in a strange place.”

More here.

Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson

“For my beloved children, Miles, Zora, and Lena Johnson. To know where you are going, you must understand from whence we came. To my husband, Glenn, you are my wind.”

More here.

These next authors dedicate the book outwards to their audience, fitting well into their respective plots.

In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens

“To those who feel lost at sea, may you find a safe harbor”

More here.

Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan

“To anyone who’s ever had their life turned upside down by love”

More here.

This year, I stumbled upon many that strengthened the sense of the community of women and womanhood I’m lucky to find while reading.

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

“To my mother, my grandmother, and all the other extraordinary women of this story”

More here.

The Wise Women by Gina Sorell

“For wise women everywhere. And for Jeff and Grady, my beloved wise men.”

More here.

A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne A. Brown

“To my sisters Rachel, Emma, and Mariah--I would face down any demon for you. And to all those still healing from pain they cannot talk about: the journey isn’t easy, but it’s always worth it.”

More here.

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

“For my mother and hers, and hers | To the angry girls, to the ones figuring it out: you are always enough”

More here.

Some of my favorite dedications come from the shorter ones like this one below from Coco Mellors:

Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

“For my mother who believed.”

More here.

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

“For my darling Kathleen, who is love itself in flesh”

More here.

Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory by Raphael Bob-Waksberg

“For Dahvi, the house where my heart lives”

More here.

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

“For my dad, whose voice still guides me”

More here.

And...the painfully beautiful ones that really stick with me throughout the story.

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton

“For Mom and Dad, for never disappearing”

More here.

The Attic Child by Lola Jaye

“For Ndugu M’Hali, Omoba Aina, Dejazmatch Alemayehu Tewodros, Mbye Otabenga and all the other children…taken.”

More here.

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land

“For Mia: Goodnight | I love you | See you in the morning. -Mom”

More here.

Alone with You in the Ether by Olivie Blake

“to the old you, from the old me”

More here.

Deaf Utopia by Nyle DiMarco

“To my deaf family, and the flying hands that gave me wings”

More here.

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

“To immigrants and exiles everywhere, the uprooted, the re-rooted, the rootless, And to the trees we left behind, rooted in our memories…”

More here.

I also ended up taking a walk down memory lane rereading some past favorites, and these final few dedications are the result. Some of which wraps the list up like the previous ones: with lighthearted and funny dedications.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

“For all the children to whom we entrust the future”

More here.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

“For my big sister, Emily, without whose enthusiasm this story might still be unfinished.”

More here.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

“To Nelson, who was worth every risk”

More here.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Once again | to Zelda”

More here.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

“For Jennifer, who always had an extra lightsaber”

More here.

Extras (The Uglies Book 4) by Scott Westerfeld

“To everyone who wrote to me to reveal the secret definition of the word ‘trilogy.’”

More here.