Fans of Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking and Blue Nights will find inspiration in this mother’s memoir about the year following her son’s sudden death.
Available October 27, 2026
Marcy began her career working in communications and press relations at US government agencies in Washington, DC. When actor and philanthropist Paul Newman asked her to be the director of his charitable foundation, she accepted and relocated to Los Angeles. From there, she led several nonprofit organizations concerned with media, social, and health issues. Eventually, she changed direction, studied creative writing at UCLA, and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Antioch University…learn more
Marcy’s work often explores themes of grief and the enduring bonds between parent and child. Her upcoming memoir, The Porcelain Heart: A Mother’s Memoir of Unexpected Loss (She Writes Press, October 27, 2026), is a deeply personal account of loss, love, and the complicated path toward healing. Kelly writes with honesty and restraint as she chronicles the year following the sudden death of her only son, Michael, exploring how memory both comforts and unsettles.
Michael, age 5, with me in Bethesda
Michael in 6th grade
Michael, age 12, in his Little League Uniform
Michael and Mike D at their 8th grade graduation
Original Lake Lure cabin
Michael, about age 15, at the lake
Michael and Mike D, college students, home for Christmas
Michael and Amber
Michael in High School
Michael with Amber and me in Sherman Oaks
Michael in his 30s
Jim and me. Photo by James Francis Kelly, Jr.
Michael with his camera-one of the last photos taken of him
Michael with me at my MFA graduation
Memorial fountain on the Studio City Greenway Trail beside the LA River