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244 reviews for:
What to Do When I'm Gone: A Mother's Wisdom to Her Daughter
Hallie Bateman, Suzy Hopkins
4.17 AVERAGE
244 reviews for:
What to Do When I'm Gone: A Mother's Wisdom to Her Daughter
Hallie Bateman, Suzy Hopkins
4.17 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
A sweet little book from a mother to her daughter on how to tackle life after the mother has passed away. The advice ranges from the philosophical to the practical, and is given in a heartfelt yet humorous way. As a typical mom would, the advice also includes feel-good recipes.
I enjoyed the broad feel of the book, even if I couldn't connect personally to a lot of the advice. (Blame this on my current state of mind, not on the book.) It is heart-warming, it is funny, it is philosophical, it is practical; most importantly (for self-help phobics such as yours truly!), it’s not structured like a typical self-help or inspirational book. In spite of the grim title, it is a nice book to have in your hands in times of grief. The illustrations are really pretty and add to the charm of the advice. I haven’t read anything like this book, and I doubt I ever will. That uniqueness is its biggest USP.
Three of the passages that struck me really hard in this graphic novel:
1. "Why go on if we all just die in the end? There’s a great reason. If you knew you were going to live forever, imagine how much time you’d waste. Amazing things can happen when there’s a deadline looming."
That's such an amazing thought. So many pessimists keep raising questions on the purpose of existence. But the point is that you don't have to exist, you need to live. And living under a deadline sounds like the right kind of kick you require to get your life back into form.
2. "Your mind sometimes takes you places you don’t want to go. Tune it out: Listen to a great song with the volume turned up to drown out that infernal internal screaming. If someone you care about is nearby, consider using headphones.
Better yet, read a great book. Let it transport you to another place and time, which—when you finally close your eyes—may help you appreciate where you are right now."
This is what has been helping me over the last year: books and music to drown out the external chaos. There's nothing in the world like books and music to help you forget the blues, at least for a few minutes. It made my heart glad to see this declaration in a book.
3. "Absent a nuclear war or global pandemic, you are in a more privileged position than any generation in history."
Ouch! I bet neither of the authors thought a global pandemic would actually come into being a couple of years after the book. We are privileged, in spite of what is happening all around. We need to focus on small blessings for now as every single day is precious. God willing, we will be able to count ourselves as survivors in the long run.
I wasn’t as moved by this book as I had expected to, and that’s the only reason for the deducted star. I suppose I wanted more. Greedy me!
I enjoyed the broad feel of the book, even if I couldn't connect personally to a lot of the advice. (Blame this on my current state of mind, not on the book.) It is heart-warming, it is funny, it is philosophical, it is practical; most importantly (for self-help phobics such as yours truly!), it’s not structured like a typical self-help or inspirational book. In spite of the grim title, it is a nice book to have in your hands in times of grief. The illustrations are really pretty and add to the charm of the advice. I haven’t read anything like this book, and I doubt I ever will. That uniqueness is its biggest USP.
Three of the passages that struck me really hard in this graphic novel:
1. "Why go on if we all just die in the end? There’s a great reason. If you knew you were going to live forever, imagine how much time you’d waste. Amazing things can happen when there’s a deadline looming."
That's such an amazing thought. So many pessimists keep raising questions on the purpose of existence. But the point is that you don't have to exist, you need to live. And living under a deadline sounds like the right kind of kick you require to get your life back into form.
2. "Your mind sometimes takes you places you don’t want to go. Tune it out: Listen to a great song with the volume turned up to drown out that infernal internal screaming. If someone you care about is nearby, consider using headphones.
Better yet, read a great book. Let it transport you to another place and time, which—when you finally close your eyes—may help you appreciate where you are right now."
This is what has been helping me over the last year: books and music to drown out the external chaos. There's nothing in the world like books and music to help you forget the blues, at least for a few minutes. It made my heart glad to see this declaration in a book.
3. "Absent a nuclear war or global pandemic, you are in a more privileged position than any generation in history."
Ouch! I bet neither of the authors thought a global pandemic would actually come into being a couple of years after the book. We are privileged, in spite of what is happening all around. We need to focus on small blessings for now as every single day is precious. God willing, we will be able to count ourselves as survivors in the long run.
I wasn’t as moved by this book as I had expected to, and that’s the only reason for the deducted star. I suppose I wanted more. Greedy me!
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
This is everything I wish I’d done with my mom
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
You might want to have some tissues ready... 😢😳👵👩👧💓
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Crying. A stunning compilation of notes from a mother to her daughter. A lovely meditation on grief that puts the most heartwarming words together with striking visuals. A combination of the two really had me weeping. Love how Suzy and Hallie were conversing through the book, a wonderful insight into the unique ways we can connect with each other. While Suzy wrote the notes, Hallie's illustrative interpretation of them really brought it all together.
I definitely know I'm going to revisit this.
I definitely know I'm going to revisit this.