Praise for Instructions for the Drowning
"To create so many small worlds and characters that feel so real and populate is an act of transcendence. To do it well is to offer a gift. In Instructions, the late Steven Heighton has managed both, and the gift is ours."
–Globe and Mail
"As these stories demonstrate, human life is a means of exploration and celebration, threaded through with darkness and loss. In the midst of death, Heighton seems to say, we are in life: it should be savoured."
–Toronto Star
"In Instructions for the Drowning, however, he uses his poet's precision, his depth as a novelist, and his intimacy as a memoirist to give us a glimpse of the closure he may have hoped for–for himself, for his characters, and also for his readers."
–The Walrus
"Heighton keeps us afloat in the depths of Instructions' themes with his truly brilliant writing which is at turns poetic, curious, compassionate and very, very funny."
–Winnipeg Free Press
"Steven Heighton has left us with a very strong final collection of short stories. I enjoyed every moment of reading Instructions for the Drowning, with each story shedding light on different parts of the human condition."
–Miramichi Reader
"A remarkable book by an unparalleled literary talent."
–Steven Beattie, Quill & Quire (starred)
"Heighton will go down as one of the brightest stars in Canadian literary history."
–FreeFall Magazine
"Masterful ... the Joycean stories collected in Instructions for the Drowning are searing reminders: that the other side of rage is a vale of tears."
–Foreword Reviews (starred)
"Instructions for the Drowning is a short story collection explores themes of love and fear, delusion and idealism and the ironic ways we come up short despite trying our very best."
–CBC Books
"As Instructions for the Drowning pulls readers into life's most vulnerable moments, the power and depth of Heighton's talents shine through each page."
–Toronto Life
"In these 11 expertly constructed and memorable short stories, he excels at capturing his subjects at moments of maximum stress, in the process illuminating different aspects of the human character."
–Shelf Awareness
"As a poet and later as fiction writer Steven Heighton had this stunning range of voice in his stories. He would go anywhere. He always surprised you. His death as a still young writer is a tragedy and a great loss. He was a writer who grew so much with each book. You could always witness it happening."
–Michael Ondaatje, author of Warlight and The English Patient
"Steven Heighton is one of our most ethical, profound writers. These stories face delusion and illumination, rebellion and surrender, they shock with their beauty and their understanding. The characters, living and dead, are gatherers of knowledge yet the deepest parts of themselves come alive in all they cannot know. Heighton leaves us an unforgettable work that, through its rigour and exactitude, finds within itself a desperately moving liberation."
–Madeleine Thien, author of Do Not Say We Have Nothing
